Bangalore, Mar 12 : The Left and major regional parties today joined hands to take on the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming general elections by launching the ''Third Force''.

Addressing a massive rally here, leaders of these parties announced that they had come together to provide a new alternative to the voters ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat said, "This is a historic get together of all democratic, secular and Left parties to declare that we are all coming together to constitute a third force in this country."

"The third force stood for the interests of the vast masses for the firm defence of secularism against communal forces," he added.

On March 2, former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) chief Deve Gowda had announced the formation of a Third Front, an alliance of eight parties, including the Left.

The parties, supporting Deve Gowda are: Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM), Forward Bloc, Republican Party of India (RPI), Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Janata Dal Secular (JDS).

Earlier, Gowda declared that the Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has agreed to join the Third Front.

The BJD recently ended its 11-year-old alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Orissa. (ANI)