Bhubaneswar: Amid the seat-sharing talks between the BJD and the BJP, BJD leaders V K Pandian and Pranab Prakash Das, who had rushed to Delhi in a chartered flight on Thursday evening, returned to the Odisha capital on Friday afternoon but kept mum over the goings on.
The two leaders then headed for Sankha Bhawan, the headquarters of BJD here, and Pandian addressed a gathering of leaders but didn’t say anything about the possible electoral pact.
This visit, details of which are still unknown, assumed significance as a core team of the state BJP is having a marathon meetings with some central leaders of the saffron party at the South Avenue residence of Odisha election in-charge and Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Pal Singh Tomar.
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Speaking to mediapersons, BJP’s Prithviraj Harichandan, however, said no decision has yet been taken on the much-talked-about alliance between the two parties ahead of the 2024 elections. “There has been no discussion on it as yet. We are hopeful that the central leadership will accept the state leaders’ contention to contest the forthcoming elections alone,” he said.
Stating that they are expecting a decision soon, he added that the likelihood of BJP contesting the forthcoming elections on its own strength seemed stronger.
Sources privy to the development said that the state leaders have been opposing the idea of an alliance with the BJD as they are in no mood to accede to the regional party’s demand for 85 per cent Assembly seats. They contend that BJP would be finished forever if more than 100 assembly seats are given to the BJD.
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Earlier this month, state BJP president Manmohan Samal dismissed the possibility of any alliance with the BJD. “During my stay in New Delhi, I had met Home Minister Amit Shah at his residence and discussed the political situation concerning Odisha. The BJP will contest the elections alone in 147 Assembly seats and 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he said after returning from New Delhi on March 1.
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The following day Tomar echoed similar views. However, the possibility of an alliance has become stronger since with the top leadership of both parties reportedly discussing with each other about it.
Also Read: Party Hoppers Face Uncertain Future Amid BJD-BJP Alliance Talks In Odisha
