New Delhi: Amid uncertainty surrounding a potential alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party and Biju Janata Dal in Odisha prior to the general election, the state BJP president, Manmohan Samal, caused a stir on Thursday (March 14) with his fluctuating stance on the matter.
Upon his return from Delhi earlier in the day, Samal told reporters that the BJP would form the government alone in the state, the Indian Express reported.
“Odia asmita (Odia pride) will be our primary electoral focus in the upcoming elections,” he said.
However, he later changed his stance and removed his statement on X (formerly Twitter), which suggested the BJP would solely govern Odisha.
“Whatever I said is my personal opinion and there should not be any interpretation of my words. I have not said a single word on alliance. Any decision (on alliance) will be taken by our national president and parliamentary board and that will be final and we will obey them. We are working in all 21 Lok Sabha seats and 147 assembly seats,” said Samal.
Alliance talks gained momentum after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Odisha on March 5. During the visit, he was seen holding chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s hand and exchanging pleasantries with him.
Sources told the newspaper that the state BJP leaders, who visited Delhi thrice over the last fortnight, held a series of discussions with the party’s central leaders, including with Union home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday evening, where they tried to argue against an alliance with the BJD.
The state leadership is learnt to have told the central leaders that the party would “lose credibility” if it aligned with the BJD.
“BJP has been opposing the BJD ever since the regional party unilaterally severed ties in 2009 after 11 years of alliance. Since then, the BJP has been fighting against the BJD. After Narendra Modi became Prime Minister, people have started looking at the BJP as an alternative to the BJD, and made the party the main Opposition party in Odisha in 2019. Our workers have undergone torture over the years, some have even sacrificed their lives. We have apprised the central leaders about these issues,” a senior BJP leader, requesting anonymity, told the daily.
The BJP leader stated that Shah assured he would communicate the concerns of the state leadership to Modi, emphasising that the final decision would rest with the prime minister.
Meanwhile, according to BJD sources cited by the newspaper, there appears to be a general consensus within the party regarding an alliance. However, the party has expressed concerns over seat-sharing.
“It would not be correct to brush aside the possibility of an alliance. The ball is in the courts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. They will take a call,” a senior BJD leader told the daily.
