Reiterating their stance and ceasing all the speculations in the political corridors, Union Minister for Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav on Saturday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will fight the general elections alone in Odisha and form the government too.
Yadav said this while attending a programme in Bhubaneswar on Saturday. “There is no alliance between the BJD and the BJP. We will fight alone in Odisha; and we will also form the government on our own,” he said.
It is pertinent to mention here that the growing bonhomie between the BJP and the BJD, who are considered archrivals in Odisha, has become the centre of discussion not only in the State politics but also in Delhi.
Immediately after the BJD backed the Delhi Services Bill and opposed the Opposition INDIA's no-confidence motion, Union Home Minister Amit Shah came to Odisha. Moreover, he heaped praises on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik during government programmes. The Odisha CM too reciprocated and extolled the former.
The Congress even ridiculed the support of the BJD to the BJP in the Parliament which ‘created confusion’ among the people. However, both the BJP and the BJD have been trying to clear the air on the rumours of a possible alliance of the two parties in Odisha since then.
Towing the same line, Odisha BJP chief Manmohan Samal said that the BJP will fight alone in all the 147 Assembly seats and 21 Lok Sabha seats in the next election.
“We are ready to fight in case of an early election too. People’s mandate is with us. As per our internal survey, we are head of the BJD. BJP will surprise everybody in this election,” said Samal.