Congress reduced to '4th front' in some states:BJP

With the Patali Makkal Katchi breaking its ties with the United Progressive Alliance, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday took pot-shots at the Congress-led alliance saying this showed the "delivery mechanism of the Congress was failing" and it had been reduced to the "Fourth Front" in several states.

"With a crucial ally like the PMK gone in Tamil Nadu, the delivery mechanism of the Congress seems to be failing. Now Congress plus UPA comes to very little as it has alliances only in Maharashtra and West Bengal," BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley told PTI.

"In the 134 seats of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand, the Congress has actually become the Fourth Front," he said, adding, "The front runners are now the underdogs."

BJP's chief strategist said Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party and Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress may have an alliance with the Congress "but they are not long term allies".

On the recent developments where smaller parties have formed alliances, Jaitley said these were based on "future flexibility" and had no ideological basis.

Arguing that the BJP had allies which were reliable, he said, "There is a fundamental difference between our allies and that of the Congress. Our allies in Punjab, Bihar, Assam and other states form their government with our support. This is not the case with Congress and so its allies can desert easily."