Bhubaneswar: Odisha could have its own grand alliance or ‘Mahagathbandhan’ - a front against the ruling-BJD which has been in power for 18 years. Utkal Bharat party chief Kharavela Swain today informed about such an alliance and clarified that Congress will not be a part of this anti-BJD front.
Though Swain did not open his cards, he informed that discussions with senior leaders like Damodar Rout, Baijayant Panda and Braja Kishore Tripathy have been done and things will get clearer in the next 10 to 15 days. He further stated that the issue of grand alliance is not yet discussed with BJP in Odisha.
“There is anti-incumbency wave against the ruling-BJD as the State government has failed in ensuring development as no jobs have been created and nothing has been done for industrialisation and agricultural growth. Due to such factors, the BJD will not come to power in Odisha and discussions are on with several leaders to constitute a united front against BJD,” said Swain.
Swain further stated that as senior leader Bijoy Mohapatra and Dilip Ray are getting cosy with BJD, they will not be part of the grand alliance. While Congress will be kept out of this alliance, BJP’s inclusion might be considered after reviewing its stand against BJD, he added.
“Kharavela Swain is thinking about the right thing to free the people of Odisha from corruption,” said Damodar Rout.
Senior leader and former Kendrapara MP Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda on the other hand stated that he would extend support to anyone and any party which is willing to fight against corruption and the evil of crime against women. “People are fed up with corruption and want change. The question is not about floating or joining a party, it's about coming together to fight corruption. But whatever happens will happen only after the launch of my book, Lutyens' Maverick on Jan 7,” said Panda while responding to a media query during his visit to Bargarh today.
Responding to the idea of a grand alliance, BJD said that the leaders who have left the party cannot survive and such alliance will not have any impact. “Be it Baijayant Panda or Damodar Rout or any other leader, who has been ousted from party by CM Naveen, nobody has a political stand in State. No front will have any impact on us,” said BJD leader Debasish Samantray.
On the other hand, BJP leader Pratap Sarangi said, “There are only 2 major parties in Odisha - BJP and BJD - while Congress has no relevance currently. No grand alliance can materialise here.”
However, experts and political analysts believed that if the grand alliance materialises, it will definitely create problems for the ruling BJD.