New Political Front Formed in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: In a bid to unseat the BJD government from power in the forthcoming Assembly elections, two regional parties, Samata Kranti Dal and Utkala Bharat on Monday announced the formation of a new political front ‘Odisha Ganatantrika Samukhya’ (Odisha Democratic Front).
Announcing the formation of the new outfit at a press briefing here, Utkala Bharat president Kharabela Swain and Samata Kranti Dal president Braja Kishore Tripathy said the new front will field candidates in all the Assembly seats. They also called on the leaders of the non-BJD and BJP parties to join the outfit.

The BJD, on the other hand, has said that the new front will have no effect on the people.

“The new front formed against the BJD is aimed at impeding the growth of the state. This is not a big issue as such fronts are usually formed on the eve of the elections and subsequently, they fade out after the elections. A similar front was formed during the Assembly election in 2014. But it lost its entity after the election,” BJD vice-president Debi Prasad told the media here.
Stating that small parties usually form a front to sustain themselves, Mishra said the people of Odisha, who have rejected small parties in the past, will take a call and lend their unstinting support to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik who is the ‘key’ driver and pioneer in the development of the state.