BHUBANESWAR: Amid macho posturing by BJD and BJP over their preparedness for the simultaneous elections to Assembly and Lok Sabha barely after two months, leaders and workers of the two parties are still in dark about a possible pre-poll alliance.
While there is uncertainty in the alliance talks after the return of the state BJP leaders from New Delhi on Thursday, Union Minister Amit Shah added to the confusion when he said at a media conclave in Delhi that he cannot throw much light on the matter as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president JP Nadda have not decided how the party should move ahead in Odisha.
“We, though, have every reason to believe that the channel for negotiation is still open. All the top leaders of the state were present at the party headquarters here on Saturday for the core committee meeting followed by a meeting of the party’s state election committee to discuss electoral strategy and prepare a list of candidates for the upcoming polls. We are expecting someone to clear the air. All of them were silent on the issue,” said a senior leader of the party.
Apart from state BJP president Manmohan Samal and organising secretary Manas Mohanty, Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Bishweswar Tudu, five of the eight members of Lok Sabha, national vice-president Baijayant Panda and national spokesperson Sambit Patra were present in the two meetings.
Odisha election in-charge Vijay Pal Singh Tomar who has not been acknowledging that talks on an alliance with the BJD were held and claiming so far that the BJP will fight the elections in the state alone sounded cautious on Sunday while speaking to reporters on the outcome of the marathon meeting that took place in the party office. “A detailed strategy has been prepared for Odisha. We will contest in the Assembly and Lok Sabha seats with our full strength,” Tomar said.
While the state president of the party is trying his best to avoid the media after making a U-turn on the alliance, senior leader and Balasore MP Pratap Sarangi was measured when he spoke to reporters. “BJP is a national party. The decision (regarding alliance) would be taken by the party’s top leaders,” was his response when asked about the contentious issue.
