On Monday, a meeting of opposition parties excluding Congress took place at the Delhi residence of NCP president Sharad Pawar. The meeting was arranged by former union minister Yashwant Sinha who is now in Trunmul Congress. Before the meeting, it was stated that the meeting was not to try the option of forming again third front but it was to discuss current issues. If the leaders were to discuss current affairs, they could do it on Zoom also. There was no need to meet in Delhi. This means, the meeting was to discuss the third front, but as Pawar later realized that, without Congress, there can’t be a third front, the vocabulary was changed. The election strategist Prashant  Kishore was also present in the meeting.  The meeting was arranged at Pawar’s residence and presence of  Kishore was enough to news value. But, other leaders present had been already rejected by people. Pawar knows better that, at this time, it is not proper to tease Congress. In the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, there has been already cracked appearing and Congress is on the verge of fighting separately. Shivsena has been in jeopardy with new cases of leaders are coming to the fore. So, Pawar is not now trusting Shivsena, though he publicly saying that, later is a trustworthy party. In such a situation, without Congress, there is no value to third front. It is undoubtedly clear that regional parties are energized with the victories in West Bengal and Tamilnadu. But the reasons are different. In West Bengal, minorities stood behind Mamta Didi in fear and in Tamilnadu, some anti-incumbency factor was there. On these two victories, if leaders are realizing that, the third front will succeed now, they are living in a fool’s paradise. The battle of 2024 can’t be fought without Congress. It isn’t strong enough to take on the BJP on its own but has enough power to drag down the rest of the Opposition. And that is why while the focus on the third front can be useful in raising issues of federalism and providing a counter-narrative, it won’t change the electoral landscape. Congress is still a national party and pan India presence. The fight now is not against liberals like Vajpayee and Advani, but there is the formidable union of Modi and Shaha. There is a renewed buzz around that perennial variable in Indian politics — a third front, or a coalition of regional and smaller forces. Mamata Banerjee and MK Stalin’s recent electoral success have increased the morale of those opposed to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). What was common to both victories was the presence of political strategist-turned-politician, Prashant Kishor, as a consultant. The success in the two states triggered speculation about a broad coalition of anti-BJP regional forces. Mr. Kishore himself did not believe a third or fourth front could take on Narendra Modi. At a separate meeting on Tuesday with other leaders opposed to the BJP, Mr. Pawar reportedly indicated that there could no third front without Congress. This is a pragmatic assessment about the limits of even strong regional parties. If other parties have to fight against Modi and Shaha duo, they should take Congress with them. But the problem of Congress is that it wants to lead the coalition. Even if Congress participates in any front against Modi, it can’t be told surely that it will be able to defeat BJP under the leadership of Modi. The Uttar Pradesh case is evidence of this. So, the third front will not be discussed in near future now in Indian polity. People have already suffered due to the tenure of the third front twice and they have seen how the leaders due to their ego, spoiled the broth. So, with Congress or without Congress, the third front is not likely to be able to defeat BJP. People still believe in Modi in large numbers and so he has no fear of defeat. If he breaches of people’s trust, he may lose. But, there is no suitable alternative is the real reason for Modi’s unlikely defeat.