Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is scheduled to visit New Delhi on March 29. While details of his itinerary are not known, he is expected to stay there for a few days, official sources said here on Friday.
This visit assumes significance keeping in view the upcoming President elections due in July since the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government is about 1.2 per cent away from the total votes it needs for its candidate to sail through. BJP’s fall in numbers in the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand legislative assembly elections is being attributed to this fall in vote-share.
Therefore, the support of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) will be crucial.
“He will be visiting Delhi. It remains to be seen whether ruling party and Opposition leaders meet him,” a senior BJD leader said.
The tenure of President Ram Nath Kovind ends on July 24.
Naveen last visited Delhi in September 2021 to attend a meeting of Chief Ministers of Maoist-hit states convened by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
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