Odisha BJP Leaders Return From Delhi; Will A Clear Picture On BJP-BJD Alliance Emerge Today?

Bhubaneswar: Will a clear picture on BJP-BJD alliance in Odisha emerge today? Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal, who all along asserted that saffron party would contest the upcoming polls in the state on its own, seemed reluctant to give a byte to media on arriving in Bhubaneswar on Thursday.

“The process is on… the way it should be. We are reviewing and having discussions on all aspects,” he told reporters, adding that he would soon reach the party office. 

The second list of BJP for Lok Sabha elections, which was released last evening, also hinted that an alliance could be on the horizon as it had no names from Odisha.

The alliance talks had gathered steam after the Odisha BJP leaders were again summoned to the national capital on Sunday evening. After several rounds of discussions over three days with Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who was reportedly tasked by the BJP top brass to instil clarity in the minds of the state leaders, Samal along with organising secretary Manas Mohanty, Odisha election in-charge Vijay Pal Singh Tomar and his deputy Lata Usendi, had a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the latter’s residence on Wednesday night. This was seen as a last-ditch attempt to convince the state leaders to jointly work with the BJD in the better interests of the saffron party, sources said.

The delay in sealing the deal, which has been in the works for the past few weeks, was primarily being attributed to reluctance of the BJP’s Odisha leaders for a pact with the BJD, which had dumped the saffron party ahead of 2009 elections after a 11-year alliance. The statements of state BJP leaders, denying any knowledge of alliance talks, was also viewed as time buying tactics to pacify those resenting it.

The BJD convening a meeting again on Thursday further added to the suspense. The senior leaders of the party are likely to meet at Naveen Niwas, the residence of party president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, this afternoon. They had earlier met for over 3 hours on March 6, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Odisha. BJD vice-president and MLA Debi Prasad Mishra had then acknowledged discussions about a possible alliance with the BJP and said that the party will “prioritise the greater interests of the people of Odisha”.