Bhubaneswar: With the possibility of a pre-poll alliance between the BJP and the BJD still lingering, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has convened a meeting of his party’s senior leaders Thursday afternoon, party sources said.
The BJD, which had March 6, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Odisha, held a meeting of its senior party leaders, decided to go for another round of discussions on the matter as no news was coming from the BJP side, a senior BJD leader privy to the development said on condition of anonymity.
The BJD, in its March 6 meeting, had resolved for “anything” (including alliance) for the larger interest of the state, he said.
“The proposal for an alliance had come from the BJP, and the BJD leaders discussed it at Naveen Niwas, Patnaik’s residence,” he said.
A day after the Naveen Niwas meeting, Patnaik’s close aide VK Pandian and BJD’s organising secretary Pranab Prakash Das had rushed to Delhi and informed the top BJP leaders about the regional party’s views on the possible alliance.
However, the BJD was yet to get any response from the top BJP leaders.
“Thursday’s meeting may discuss the changing political situation in the state in wake of the possible alliance,” the leader said.
Meanwhile, at least four senior BJP leaders, including the party’s Odisha unit president Manmohan Samal, Organising secretary Manas Mohanty, Odisha election in-charge Vijay Pal Singh Tomar and his deputy Lata Usendi, were holding a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the latter’s residence Wednesday night, a party source said.
“The meeting started at 10.10 pm Wednesday night, and is underway,” the BJP source said.
The state BJP leaders were called to Delhi Sunday evening and since then they had been holding discussions at Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s official residence. They were called for a meeting at Shah’s residence Wednesday, the source said.
Odisha Governor Raghubar Das had Monday met Shah in New Delhi.
Though his meeting was termed a “courtesy call”, political circles in Odisha were abuzz with speculations as Das, a former CM of Jharkhand, had met Shah after touring all the 30 districts of the state.
Several BJP leaders, including MPs Pratap Sarangi and Jual Oram have expressed reservations over the possible alliance.
PTI