Thursday, January 6 2005 18:57 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: With the countdown for Assembly elections in Bihar, Jharkhand and Haryana having begun, smaller parties have got busy seeking to forge alliances and form Third Fronts to counter the two major combinations - BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party)-led NDA (National Democratic Alliance) and the Congress-led UPA (United Progressive Alliance).

In Bihar, eight parties which includes Samata Party, CPI-ML (Communist Party of India-Marxist- Leninist), SJP (Samajwadi Party), RLD (Rashtriya Lok Dal), Soshit Samaj Dal and Bharatiya Momin Front are busy trying to form a Third Front to counter RJD (Rashtriya Janata Dal) led by Laloo Prasad Yadav and the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) of Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan.

"Our effort is to form a Front comprising of smaller and regional parties and in this era of coalition politics, we would emerge as a Third Front to counter the others," said Samata Party President Brahmanand Mandal.

Meanwhile, President of Jharkhand Vikas Dal Suraj Mandal said that his party along with Paswan's party and others including the Samata Party and the Marxists Coordination Centre (MCC) of former MP A K Roy have formed a Third Front in Jharkhand to fight the Assembly elections.