Decision On Alliance In Odisha Rests With PM Modi & BJP National President: Pradipta Naik

Bhubaneswar: Amid uncertainty surrounding a potential BJP-BJD alliance in Odisha, former Leader of Opposition (LoP) Pradipta Kumar Naik on Tuesday reiterated that any decision in this regard rests with the central leadership and not the state unit.

“There can be an alliance only if the Prime Minister and the BJP national president want. We are ready to fight on all 147 Assembly and 21 Lok Sabha seats,” the Bhawanipatna MLA said.

The senior BJP leader added that the state leaders should keep a strategy ready for the upcoming polls.

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This came a day after Sundargarh MP Jual Oram told reporters here that there was no confusion among BJP workers over any alliance. “We have sent a list to the central leadership and everything will be done as per their decision,” he said.

On Monday, the party’s state president Manmohan Samal left for New Delhi to finalise candidates for upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections to be held simultaneously in Odisha in four phases on May 13 20, 25, and June 1. While he was accompanied by party’s state general secretary (organisation) Manas Mohanty, election co-in-charges for Odisha Vijay Pal Singh Tomar and Lata Usendi had departed for the national capital a day earlier.

This was Samal’s third visit to the national capital in less than two weeks.