Fissures appear in the pre-poll alliance between Aama Odisha Party (AOP) and Trinamool Congress (TMC) in Odisha as candidates from both the parties are pitted against each other in the Cuttack Lok Sabha seat.
After withdrawal-deadline of nominations ended on Saturday, it was found that all the ten candidates, whose nomination papers were found valid during scrutiny, are in fray, including AOP's Kharavela Swain and TMC's Jibesh Kishore Sundaray.
The AOP and TMC reached a consensus on seat adjustment and accordingly, six Lok Sabha seats, including Balasore and 48 Assembly seats were allotted to Mamata Banerjee's party.
On this ground, senior AOP leader and former MP Kharvela Swain, who had filed his nomination for Balasore LS seat, had to fall back at the last moment and filed his papers for the Cuttack seat.
When contacted earlier, Swain had said that the TMC candidate in Cuttack constituency would be asked to withdraw.
However, this did not happen and the TMC candidate, who had recently quit from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), is determined to fight in Cuttack under the twin grass flower symbol.
"I don't know about what the AOP leaders are saying on 'friendly fight' between the parties. I am serious about my candidature in Cuttack, where I was born and brought up," the model and actor-turned-politician Sundaray said.
On the other hand, Swain, who has launched his campaign here, is confused over the tie-up and seat adjustments between AOP and TMC.
The former BJP MP Swain, who was till last month heading the Utkal Bharat party here in the state, merged with AOP after his attempt to form an alliance with BJP failed.
"This is what the game of politics in the country is about and we have to reconcile with it," Swain said.
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