Pre-poll alliance: State BJP says no, Pyari still hopeful

Edited by Bijayashree Parida

Bhubaneswar: Apparently considering the bitter experience the BJP had when the BJD snapped ties with it ahead of general elections to Assembly and Lok Sabha in 2009, the State leadership of the party today promptly rejected the possibility of forging any alliance with regional parties for the forthcoming polls.

“There is no question of forming any tie-up with any party. However, we would welcome individuals who wish to join our party,” emphatically said State BJP president K V Singhdeo.

Singhdeo’s statement came a day after the central leadership of the party started exploring the options for alliance with newly floated small parties.

Senior BJP leader and Odisha in-charge Chandan Mitra on Tuesday held discussions with Aama Odisha Party (AOP) leader Soumya Ranjan Patnaik and Utkal Bharat president Kharvel Swain before interacting on the issue with the core committee members of the party.

Majority of the leaders were, however, averse to forging pre-poll tie-up with regional parties.

Meanwhile, Pyarimohan Mohapatra’s Odisha Jan Morcha (OJM) is still confident of joining hands with the saffron party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

“I had earlier held talks with three ex-presidents of the BJP. The incumbent president had also assured to talk to me on this matter. For me, the option of pre-poll tie-up is open even now,” Mohapatra said.

Notably, Mohapatra was believed to be the man behind BJP-BJD divide as he was a key strategist of the ruling party and a close confidant of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik then.

As the situation regarding a possible front remained unclear, sources said, Mitra was likely to visit Odisha again on Saturday to make the state leaders understand the significance of an allainace before the elections.