AAP Eyes Opposition Space In Odisha Amid BJP-BJD Alliance Talks; Ready To Welcome Disgruntled Leaders

Bhubaneswar: Amid the prevailing suspense over possible alliance between BJP and BJD, Aam Admi Party (AAP) is trying to make the most of the changing political dynamics in Odisha ahead of the 2024 elections.

The APP has laid out the red carpet for dissident leaders from both the parties in an attempt to emerge as the main opposition in the state after the twin polls. “The political situation in Odisha is changing very fast. The ruling party Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is getting into alliance with the primary opposition party which is the BJP. This is a very strange and unnatural alliance and no one is able to digest why the BJD is allying with BJP,” Delhi minister and senior AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj, who has been camping in Odisha for the last two days, told ANI.

He further said that Arvind Kejriwal had sent him and the in-charge of Odisha to assess the fast-developing political situation here. “….we understand that situation in Odisha is changing very fast and we will be contesting elections at the Legislative Assembly as well as Lok Sabha from Odisha. Very soon we will start declaring our candidates,” he further said.

The AAP had a disappointing run in 2019 Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in the state with all its candidates had forfeiting their security deposits.

However, the party is ready to exploit the opposition space that is likely to open up before the polls with the Congress still struggling to remain relevant and regain its “lost glory” in Odisha, where it was in power for more than four decades till 2000. “Since some sort of compromise is happening between the two parties (BJP and BJD), there would be a lot of dissatisfaction among cadres, candidates and rank and file of both the parties. We are ready to welcome people from both the parties into our fold. We feel that things look good for us in Odisha,” Bhardwaj was quoted as saying by HT.

He added that APP would promise free electricity, free water, free bus rides for women and free pilgrimage for old people, as is the case in Delhi, in its election manifesto for Odisha.