Bhubaneswar: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which enjoyed a decade long alliance with the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Orissa, is the most bitter of all after the BJD switched loyalties for the General Elections.
Right no more
Expressing bitterness over the BJD's ‘unilateral stance on seat-sharing issue' state BJP president Suresh Pujari dubbed BJD as a ‘betrayer of trust despite supporting Patnaik through every crisis all along'.
“We had maintained coalition dharma ever since the alliance was forged with BJD in 1998 and but the same cannot be said about them now,” Pujari said.
The BJD moves led to a collapse of the alliance, the BJP on Sunday affirmed to go alone in the coming simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections in Orissa.
“We will tell the people of Orissa how trusting Naveen Patnaik is a dangerous step,” Pujari said from Delhi.
Replying to a question on revival of ties with BJD, Pujari said he was ‘not hopeful’ at this juncture and BJP will adopt ‘ekla chalo’ (go it alone) in the hustings fielding candidates in all 21 Lok Sabha and 147 Assembly seats.
However, all options were open for forming a pre-poll alliance with any other like-minded party, Pujari said responding to another question.
A delegation of state BJP leaders led by Pujari met party's senior leaders in Delhi to chalk out the future strategy in the wake of the recent developments.
March Left
After successfully putting a wedge between the seemingly strong alliance of the BJP and the BJD, the Communist Party of India (CPI) has now expressed hope that BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik would play a key role in formation of a third alternative to National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
Complimenting Patnaik, CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan expressed hope that the Orissa Chief Minister would play a lead role, akin to his legendary father Biju Patnaik in cementing a third force of secular parties.
The CPI veteran had earlier said that the third front cobbled up by Left and like minded parties would welcome BJD in its fold if the regional party severed its ties with BJP, particularly in the aftermath of communal violence in Kandhamal.
In the backdrop of the changed political scenario in Orissa, Bardhan is also likely to visit Bhubaneswar shortly as part of efforts to prop up the third front.
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Clearly, the third front?
Sharad Pawar-led NCP on Sunday extended support of his party's two MLAs to the Naveen Patnaik ministry in Orissa, which was reduced to a minority after the BJP pulled out of the alliance.
"The MLAs of Nationalist Congress Party in Orissa will support the BJD Government headed by Patnaik," NCP spokesperson D P Tripathi said in a statement.
Patnaik has claimed in Bhubaneshwar that he has a majority in the 147-member assembly with the support of more than 74 MLAs.
The ruling BJD in Orissa late on Sunday hinted not to oppose the NCP state unit president Bijoy Mohaptra, who had lost the last two assembly elections due to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's intensive campaigning against him.
This came as a new development in the current political scenario in the state, where assembly and Lok Sabha elections would be held simultaneously.
On Saturday, the 11-year-old BJD-BJP coalition came to an end in Orissa over seat sharing issue with the BJP withdrawing its support to the Patnaik government and two NCP MLAs pledging support to the BJD rule.
The NCP MLAs Arun Dey and Utkal Keshari Parida were among the 75 legislators who made a bus ride to the Raj Bhawan to inform Governor M C Bhandare that they too supported the Naveen Patnaik-led government.
NCP is likely to get a Lok Sabha and some assembly seats as part of seat-sharing in the state, party sources said.
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