ok Sabha elections news: Ahead of the upcoming general polls, there are talks that the Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) might rekindle their alliance after 15 years. In 2009, the BJP had left the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) due to failed seat-sharing talks after an 11-year political partnership.
The BJD leaders held a three-hour-long meeting at Chief Minister Patnaik’s residence on Wednesday. After the meeting, BJD vice-president and MLA Debi Prasad Mishra said there were indeed discussions about a possible pre-poll alliance with the BJP.
There were also discussions regarding the party’s strategy in the upcoming Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections. “Biju Janata Dal will prioritise the greater interests of the people of Odisha. Yes, there were discussions on the issue (alliance),” Mishra said.
Odisha BJP leaders, on the other hand, had a similar meeting with the Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the party’s national president JP Nadda in Delhi, news agency PTI reported citing sources. Senior BJP leader and MP Jual Oram said the party’s central leadership would make the final decision on any pre-poll alliance with the BJD.
“Yes, there were discussions on the alliance among other issues. The party’s central leadership will make the final call,” Oram said. The BJP’s Central Election Committee, which includes PM Modi and other senior leaders, will hold its second meeting later this week to finalise the party’s candidates for the Lok Sabha elections 2024.
The saffron party has so far announced 195 Lok Sabha seats out of the total 543. If an alliance between the BJP and the BJD is materialised, the saffron party is most likely to contest a majority of the Lok Sabha seats whereas the BJD is likely to contest a majority of assembly seats, sources added.
Meanwhile, the BJD is likely to agree for 13 Lok Sabha seats for itself and 8 for the BJP. The BJP, on the other hand, wants 9 Lok Sabha seats and 55 in the Odisha assembly polls, India Today reported citing sources. At present, the BJP has 8 Lok Sabha MPs and 23 MLAs in Odisha.Odisha has 21 Lok Sabha seats and 147 assembly constituencies. Out of the 21 Lok Sabha seats, 13 are unreserved whereas 3 are SC seats and 5 are ST seats. (AIN)