NEW DELHI, March 22 -- After a few rounds of recent discussions with the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the BJP has decided to go solo in the coming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Odisha, state party president Manmohan Samal said on Friday. Talks on pre-poll alliance were being held between the ruling BJD and the Opposition BJP for the past few days.
"Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will fight this election alone in all 21 Lok Sabha and 147 Assembly seats to create a developed India and a developed Odisha under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to fulfil the hopes, aspirations and aspirations of four and a half crore Odiyas," Samal said in a post on X.
Earlier this week, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said in Delhi that BJP national president J P Nadda will take a final call on the alliance with the BJD.
Samal also thanked BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for his party's support to the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre on various issues for the last 10 years.
"We feel that the states that have dual engine governments across the country, make extensive development and accelerate welfare work for the poor," he said. The BJP's decision came after a meeting in Delhi where Odisha party leaders managed to convince central leaders that an electoral alliance with the BJD would be against the BJP's interest.
The BJP state president also claimed that many of the welfare schemes of the Modi government are not reaching the grassroots level, and the poor people of Odisha failed to get the benefits. "We have concerns on many issues related to Odisha identity, Odisha pride, and interest of the people of Odisha,'' Samal said in the post on X in Hindi.
Welcoming the move to go solo, BJP leader Aparajita Sarangi posted on X, "Excellent, immensely grateful.''
The BJD and the BJP were in alliance for around 11 years between 1998 and 2009 and fought three Lok Sabha and two Assembly elections together.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.