New Delhi: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who is in Delhi on a three-day visit, is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi at South Block here at 4.30 pm on Monday.
Naveen arrived at 12.30 pm and this is his third visit to the national capital in two months. He will return to Odisha on Wednesday afternoon.
Though the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) has not revealed the agenda of the meeting, the two leaders are expected to discuss the forthcoming presidential election along with some issues pertaining to Odisha, including the lifting of surplus parboiled rice and coal royalty, pending with the central government.
The President’s election is expected to be held in July to decide the successor of Ram Nath Kovind, who will complete his term on July 24, 2022. Since the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government is about 1.2 per cent away from the total votes it needs for its candidate to sail through, the support of regional parties like Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) will be crucial.
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The BJD with 112 MLAs and 12 MPs has about 3 per cent of the total vote value of about 1,093,347.
Notably, Naveen had extended support to BJP’s presidential nominee Ram Nath Kovind in 2017, leading to talks about a tacit understanding between the parties that are rivals in the state. Naveen had then said: “As you all know, last time when the Presidential elections happened, BJD had proposed the name of PA Sangma, an eminent leader from the tribal community. Based on the request of BJD, many parties including the BJP had supported his nomination.”
“Against this backdrop and the fact that Mr Kovind is an eminent lawyer belonging to the Scheduled Caste community, after discussing with the senior party leaders, BJD had decided to support his candidature,” he added.
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