Voters will defeat the "merchants of instability": Arun Jaitley

Ruling out possibility of a Third Front government after the elections, BJP leader Arun Jaitley said the voters will defeat the "merchants of instability". "Those who toy with the idea of Third Front with Congress support are only reviving an idea which has repeatedly failed," he said in his blog.

Taking a dig at Salman Khurshid for his remarks that Congress could consider extending support to the Third Front, Jaitley said the Congress leader has "virtually accepted defeat" and stressed that "these manipulations are not likely to work". "Fortunately the projected figure in their case shows that even these manipulations are not likely to work.

"The electorate is now aware of these manipulative tendencies and is likely to deliver a decisive result. Those who toy with the idea of Third Front with Congress support are only reviving an idea which has repeatedly failed." He said such "non ideological combinations" formed purely for convenience can never deliver governance.

"There are many who rejoice the political instability. It is only then that they can claim some relevance. I am sure that the electorate is wise enough to defeat not only the Congress but also the merchants of instability," Jaitley wrote.