Odisha BJP chief finally hints at BJP-BJD alliance possibility; big decision on seat-sharing likely today

As the speculation of a possible alliance between the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stretches further without any announcements by either of the parties, Odisha BJP Chief Manmohan Samal dropped a hint after his return from Delhi on Thursday morning.

Upon asked about the meeting in Delhi on the possible alliance, Samal said, “The procedure is on. Everything is on the right path. We are discussing everything.”

This statement is in contrast to Samal’s previous comments about the same. Last week, Samal had refuted any discussion on the alliance and termed the speculation as a rumour.

If reports are to be believed, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had called another round of meeting on Wednesday. The state BJP leadership, which was camping in Delhi, met Home Minister Amit Shah. He held discussions with State BJP president Manmohan Samal, organisation secretary Manas Mohanty, election in-charge Vijay Pal Singh Tomar and co-in-charge Lata Usendi.

It is believed that Shah discussed an acceptable seat sharing formula with the Odisha BJP leadership. However, a formal announcement is yet to be made by either of the parties.

On the other hand, as per sources, an emergency meeting will be held at Naveen Niwas today and some senior party leaders and the party’s district observers have reportedly been called to attend the meeting. The meeting is likely to discuss the bottlenecks in seat-sharing with the BJP.

A similar meeting was held at Naveen Niwas on March 6 and after the meeting senior party leader, Debi Mishra told the media that the Chief Minister would take a decision in the larger interests of the state.