Kolkata, Mar 18: CPM veteran Jyoti Basu has said that it would be tough for the ''Third Front'' to win the general polls and form a government.

"It will be tough for the ''Third Front'' to form the Central Government, as far as my knowledge is concerned," said Basu.

However, Basu said that the Communists could be part of government if the front came to power.

"The ''Third Front'' is the only alternative. I think if the Front comes to power at the Centre then we can join the government. In the last elections, we could not form the government. But this time, I think it is possible. I hope the polls will be held accordingly in different states," he said.

An alliance of nine parties, the ''Third Front'' will take on the Congress party and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The BJP has projected senior leader L K Advani as its prime ministerial candidate while the Congress has gone on record that incumbent Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would fill the top post if voted back.

The parties making up the Third Front have around 70 seats between them in the 543-member Lower House of Parliament, most of them belonging to the Communists. (ANI)