Bhubaneswar: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Wednesday said that there is no need to be excited about the invitation sent by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to attend a meeting of the opposition parties for political alliance negotiations.
The BJD spokesperson Pratap Keshari Deb said that there is no need to be excited about the call as talks between political parties during elections are quite normal. Speaking to reporters from the state capital, Deb said, “There is no need to be enthusiastic about the call. Political discussions and talks during election time had always been a normal affair for a long time. First let the results come out.”
The BJD also said that the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has already predicted that no major political party would get majority and that is why the importance of regional parties in 2019 elections are likely to be important.
Earlier UPA Chairman has personally called and invited regional parties like BJD, Telangana Rastra Samiti (TRS), YSR Congress and Telugu Desam Party (TDP). The invitation to BJD has sparked speculation about the post poll alliance between Congress and BJD with other political unification formulas. However BJD has clarified now that the decision on any alliance would be taken only after the results are out.
It has been reported that Chattisgarh Chief Minister Kamal Nath has personally talked to Patnaik over the issue and has asked the CM to attend the meeting scheduled in New Delhi on May 23 to discuss about the issue of post poll alliance.
Speaking on the issue, Congress leader Suresh Routray said, “Sonia Gandhi has taken a good step to initiate a debate among the opposition parties to safeguard democracy. As BJP is also holding talks with their aides, the discussion has now been planned for the opposition parties. I see this as a good gesture.”
Prithiviraj Harichandan, BJP leader said, “This exposes the helplessness of the Congress party. Earlier they were claiming to form a government and now they are eyeing other parties.”