Bhubaneswar: Senior BJP leader Jayanarayan Mishra on Tuesday pooh-poohed BJD’s claims of forming a government in Odisha with the help of Congress and others.
“The regional outfit is currently in ICU and there are doubts on whether it can survive the infighting,” the Sambalpur MLA told reporters.
He added that it was a last ditch attempt by BJD which is on the brink of collapse. “The party lacks leadership after giving it out on lease to bureaucrat-turned-polictician V K Pandian and Pyari Mohapatra. The party leaders and workers were neglected,” he said.
While addressing a public meeting at Mahakalapada in Kendrapada district on Saturday, former minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak said Naveen Patnaik will again be the chief minister of Odisha with the support of Congress and Independents. “Our party has 51 members in the Assembly while Congress has 14 and there are three Independents. There will be a shortfall of only eight to 10 MLAs. A few more MLAs will be required to be in a position to stake claim for forming government in the state,” he said.
Also Read: BJD Leader Presents Formula To Claim How Naveen Patnaik Can Be Odisha CM Again
Similar claims had earlier been made by BJD MPs Debashish Samantaray and Munna Khan as well as former MP Amar Patanik.
Congress leader Mohammed Moquim, however, dismissed the claim of his party’s support to BJD. “There is no question of joining hands with BJD which supported BJP government at the Centre on all issues when it was power. The regional outfit has no future and Congress will grow on its own in Odisha,” he added.
