The United National Progressive Alliance (or Third Front) was created as an alliance of ten different political parties on March 12, 2009, at a rally held in Dobbaspet, a small town 50 kilometres from Bengaluru. The advertisement put forth on this day read:

"The Third Front is being launched, against the pro-rich economic policies of the national parties like the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, against the growth of communal and fascist forces and to remain determined and committed to the cause of the pro-farmer, pro-poor, pro-worker, pro-Other Backward Classes, pro-Dalit, pro-women, pro-minorities and pro-youth."

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Telangana Rashtra Samithi (joined NDA)
Samajwadi Party (supports UPA without being in the government)
Asom Gana Parishad (joined NDA)
Indian National Lok Dal (joined NDA)
Haryana Janhit Congress (joined NDA)

Prior to 2008, the Third Front existed as the United National Progressive Alliance for a brief period of time. It was then a grouping of eight political parties in India who were neither in United Progressive Alliance nor in National Democratic Alliance (NDA) or in Indian left. The alliance had then approached Abdul Kalam to contest the Indian presidential election. Rasheed Masood was their Vice-Presidential candidate.

Prakash Karat (Malayalam: പ്രകാശ് കാരാട്ട് ), born on February 7, 1948 in Letpadan, Burma is a communist politician in India and the current General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) since 2005.

Nitish Kumār (born 1 March 1951) is an Indian politician who has been a Union Minister and is the Chief Minister of Bihar, an eastern state of India, since 2005. He belongs to the Janata Dal (United) party. As Chief Minister, he gained popularity by initiating a series of developmental and constructive activities including building of long-delayed bridges, re-laying roads that had ceased to exist, appointing over 100,000 school teachers, ensuring that doctors worked in primary health centers, and keeping crime in check.

Nitish Kumār was born in Kalyanbigha, Bihar to Kaviraj Ram Lakhan Singh and Parmeshwari Devi. His father was a freedom fighter and was close to the great Gandhian Bihar Vibhuti Anugrah Narayan Sinha, one of the founders of modern Bihar. His nickname is 'Munna'. He is a teetotaler, does not smoke, and is a frugal eater.

He has a degree in electrical engineering from the Bihar College of Engineering, Patna now NIT Patna. He joined the Bihar State Electricity Board, but almost halfheartedly, and later moved into politics.

Mulayam Singh Yadav (born 22 November 1939) is an Indian politician from Uttar Pradesh. He was Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh three times from 1989 to 1991, 1993 to 1995, and 2003 to 2007. He also served as Minister of Defense from June 1996 to March 1998 in the United Front government.

Mulayam Singh Yadav was born to Moorti Devi and Sughar Singh on 22 November 1939 in the village Saifai of Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh in India. His father wanted the son to be a wrestler and his political guru, Natthu Singh, spotted him in a wrestling match at Mainpuri. Impressed by his muscle power Mulayam was rewarded the political pocket of Jaswantnagar by Singh.

Yadav first became a state minister in 1977, Later in 1980, he became the president of the Lok Dal (People's Party) in Uttar Pradesh which became a part of the Janata Dal (People's Party) afterward. In 1982, he was elected leader of the opposition in the Uttar Pradesh legislative council. He holds a M.A. from Agra University and B.T.^{[disambiguation needed ]} from Jain Inter College, Karhal (Mainpuri).