A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s massive public meeting in Chandikhol area in Odisha’s Jajpur district, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held simultaneous meetings in Bhubaneswar and Delhi, indicating that alliance talks between the two were at a final stage, with only a formal announcement awaited. If that happens, the BJD will return to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) fold 15 years after it broke off its ties in 2009 following the Kandhamal riots in 2008.
The two parties were allies from 1998 till 2009. Prior to becoming the chief minister, Naveen Patnaik was a union minister in late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s cabinet in the 1990s.
In a big development as far as state politics is concernment, BJD leaders emerging out of the meeting headed by chief minister Naveen Patnaik that discussed the strategy of the upcoming Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections indicated that the party was ready for an alliance with the main opposition party in Odisha.
A statement issued by BJD senior vice president Debi Prasad Mishra and senior general secretary Arun Kumar Sahoo said, “In the discussions, it was resolved that since by 2036, Odisha will complete 100 years of its statehood and the BJD and CM have major milestones to be achieved by this time, therefore the Biju Janata Dal will do everything towards this in the greater interests of the people of Odisha and the state.”
When the BJD had lent support to BJP’s Rajya Sabha candidate Ashwini Vaishaw, a similar reason was stated by Odisha’s ruling party, which sent two candidates to the upper house, and supported the saffron outfit for the third.
Incidentally, the BJD supported Vaishaw as the BJP’s candidate for the second time, the first being in 2019.
In Delhi, former union minister and Sundargarh MP Jual Oram while speaking to reporters after the meeting said that the state unit has indicated to the central leadership that the BJP wants to fight alone in Odisha but no final decision has been taken. He added that the central leadership’s decision will be final.
According to sources, while the BJP is asking for 14 of the 21 Lok Sabha constituencies in Odisha, the final arrangement may be 9 for it and 12 for the BJP. Currently, the BJP has 8 and the BJD has 12, while the Congress has 1. As far as the assembly is concerned, where the BJD has 112 out of the total 147 seats and the BJP just 23, sources indicate that the state’s ruling party may fight on 100+ seats, leaving 40, or nearly a third, for its likely ally. The Congress has just nine MLAs in the current assembly.
Five-time chief minister Naveen Patnaik is aiming for a record sixth term and the BJD has said that it expects 128 out of the 147 seats in the upcoming elections. The broad understanding could be that in the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP will contest on more seats, while in the Vidhan Sabha, the BJD will get the lion’s share.
A BJD source said that if the alliance comes through, it may “lessen the load” on 78-year-old Naveen Patnaik who shoulders the responsibility of his party’s performance.
In his most recent visit to Odisha on March 5, which happened to be the 108th birth anniversary of former Odisha chief minister Biju Patnaik, Naveen Patnaik’s father, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the legendary leader’s contributions towards the state and the country. With Naveen Patnaik sharing the stage, PM Modi targeted the Congress in his speech and not the state government or the BJD’s rule. The Congress was in power in Odisha 25 years ago and has been reduced to a mere nine seats in the assembly and one in the Lok Sabha with its vote share also nosediving.
It is plain to see that neither the BJD nor the BJP perceive any challenge from the Congress. An alliance though will leave the opposition space wide open for the Congress to exploit.
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