Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday clarified that his Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is not going to be a part of an opposition third entrance, which is being proposed to tackle the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering (BJP) within the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Patnaik, who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on Thursday, stated his occasion’s coverage of contesting elections alone would proceed.
“There isn’t any risk of a ‘third entrance’ so far as I’m involved. Not now,” Patnaik advised reporters after assembly Modi. “BJD will battle the 2024 elections by itself. That has been at all times been the coverage of BJD.”
Patnaik, whose occasion has supplied help to the BJP on varied points up to now, stated his assembly with the Prime Minister was to debate “points associated to Odisha”.
Learn | No risk of third entrance so far as I’m involved: Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik
“My discussions have been primarily associated to Odisha’s calls for and the worldwide airport proposed in Puri. Because the (air) visitors at Bhubaneswar worldwide airport is turning into extra, we talked concerning the proposed Puri airport,” stated Patnaik, the longest-serving chief minister of Odisha. “PM stated he will certainly assist in each method attainable.”
Talks of the BJD considering becoming a member of a united opposition entrance began doing the rounds since Patnaik met Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday. Nonetheless, each leaders performed down the assembly as a “courtesy name”.
“Ours is a recognized friendship, and we have been colleagues a few years in the past. No dialogue was held on any alliances,” Patnaik had stated after assembly his Bihar counterpart.
Nitish Kumar cited his “very previous relation” with the Odisha CM and his late father Biju Patnaik, and stated: “As a result of Covid pandemic, we couldn’t meet. No political discussions have been held. We’ve good relations and there’s no want to debate any politics.”
In a bid to get all opposition events on board to venture a unified battle towards the BJP, Kumar has met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and occasion chief Rahul Gandhi, Aam Aadmi Social gathering nationwide convener Arvind Kejriwal, Samajwadi Social gathering chief Akhilesh Yadav, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Bannerjee, and Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren up to now two months.
Political observers stated the politics of “equidistance” has served Patnaik nicely in his over two-decades stint because the Odisha CM.
Rabi Das, a Bhubaneswar-based political analyst stated, “He’s joyful being the CM of Odisha and has again and again made clear his political ambition doesn’t lie in nationwide politics. On the similar time, he doesn’t wish to be politically remoted and thus hedging his political bets by assembly opposition CMs in case the tide turns towards BJP in 2024 polls.”