MAIL TODAY COMMENT: Talk of Third Front can't be dismissed out of hand

Samajwadi Party President Mulayam Singh Yadav, along with other regional parties, may end up playing a crucial role after the next elections yet he remains hampered by a trust deficit

Samajwadi Party President Mulayam Singh Yadav, along with other regional parties, may end up playing a crucial role after the next elections yet he remains hampered by a trust deficit

While Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav's assertion that the Third Front will form the government in 2014 might seem a bit of a pipe dream, especially as no such entity even exists at the moment, it cannot be denied that regional parties such as his may end up playing a crucial role.

It is an almost foregone conclusion that the Congress will fail to match its tally of 206 seats in the 2009 general elections.

With the largest Opposition party - the Bharatiya Janata Party - yet to settle its leadership issue, it is possible that regional parties will be the primary beneficiaries of the Congress's decline.

Being in power in a state that sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha, the SP has the potential of becoming a power centre around which an alliance of non-Congress, non-BJP parties coalesces.

It is also true that after the death of Harkishan Singh Surjeet and the marginalisation of H.D. Deve Gowda, Mr Yadav is the most prominent survivor of the United Front that had formed the government at the Centre in 1996.

However, Mr Yadav's own fortunes continue to be hampered by the factor that prevented him from reaching the top job during the UF regime: a trust deficit.

He is seen as too much of a threat by almost everyone else.

The Yadav chieftain hasn't helped his cause by following a course of action governed purely by self interest. The manner in which he led Mamata Banerjee up the garden path during the presidential elections and the way he ditched the Left to back the Indo-US nuclear deal are cases in point.

More recently, Mr Yadav championed the cause of Opposition unity on Coalgate, only to sing a different tune a few days later.

Important hurdle cleared

While the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) has approved the Greater Noida Authority's draft Master Plan 2021 to clear a major hurdle in the way of resumption of construction work in the Noida Extension area, there are still some legal issues that need to be sorted out before home buyers can heave a sigh of relief.

The Greater Noida Authority will now have to submit before the Allahabad High Court the approval of the NCRPB that was headed by Urban development minister Kamal Nath.

The high court had in October last year ruled that no construction in the area could take place without the master plan being approved by the NCRPB.

This means it could take a month or so before all the legal formalities are cleared at the high court level. There is also the issue of farmers of the region filing before the Supreme Court petitions which range from those seeking higher compensation for land to those which do not want land to be taken away at all.

Further, farmers have announced that they will file a fresh petition if the high court allows construction to go ahead. These legal problems will have to be settled before construction activity can finally resume in full swing.

Our teenagers on top again

India has never been short of talent when it comes to cricket, and the Under-19 World Cup triumph in Australia merely underlines this fact.

What a dominant force they have also been at age-level cricket is clear from the fact that this is the third time that they have become Under-19 world champions.

Fans would remember the previous instance four years ago when the team led by Virat Kohli lifted the trophy in Kuala Lumpur. India had also triumphed in 1999-2000 when they beat hosts Sri Lanka in the final.

Significantly, several big cricketers including Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag and Irfan Pathan have shot into prominence through their exploits at this level.

This is perhaps not surprising given this country's huge population and the religion-like status it commands among its people.

Players such as skipper Unmukt Chand, who guided India home in the final with a splendid century, Smit Patel and Baba Aparajith have made an impression with their sterling performances in Australia.

So it would be totally in the order of things if one or more of them make it to the senior side, bringing the country glory at the highest level of the game.