Lok Sabha elections 2024: As the BJP-BJD alliance and seat sharing talks remained inconclusive within the nationwide capital, the Odisha unit of the saffron occasion has stated that it could area candidates in all of the 147 meeting and 21 Lok Sabha constituencies of the state. BJP state president Manmohan Samal, who alongside with different senior leaders of the occasion returned to Bhubaneswar from the nationwide capital on Friday night, stated, “There was no talk on alliance and we (BJP) will go to polls alone.”
Samal stated that that they had visited Delhi to carry discussions with the central leaders on the occasion’s preparations for the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly polls within the state.
“No talks on alliance or seat-sharing with any party were held during the meeting,” he stated.
He exuded confidence within the Odisha BJP profitable each the polls. “The BJP will contest the twin polls on its own strength,” he stated.
BJD leaders VK Pandian and Pranab Prakash Das, who had rushed to Delhi in a chartered flight on Thursday night to debate pre-poll alliance points with BJP central leaders, additionally returned to Bhubaneswar. Upon their return, they maintained silence relating to the end result of their discussions.
Alliance talks met hurdles: Sources
Sources stated that the alliance talks between Naveen Patnaik’s BJD and the BJP hit hurdles over seat sharing. Though each the events have mutually agreed for a pre-poll alliance, there was a distinction over seat sharing.
While the BJD sought to contest from over 100 seats within the 147-member Odisha Assembly, it was not acceptable to the BJP, sources within the saffron camp claimed.
In the outgoing meeting, the regional occasion has 114 members and, initially, it demanded 112 seats throughout talks with the BJP.
“The BJD is demanding about 75 per cent of the assembly seats which is not acceptable to us,” a senior BJP chief stated, including such a scenario would adversely have an effect on the prospect of the saffron occasion within the state.
Deadlock over seat sharing
The BJP, alternatively, sought 14 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha which had been rejected by the BJD.
In the 2019 basic elections, the BJD had gained 12 seats whereas the BJP gained eight.
“It would be suicidal for us if we contest in less than 10 LS seats,” a senior BJD chief stated.
Odisha BJP leaders led by Samal stayed in Delhi for 3 days and held marathon conferences with a number of central leaders at the residence of state election in-charge and Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Pal Singh Tomar.
The BJD has indicated that it will do every little thing, together with forging an alliance, for the “interest of the state and its people”.
Both the events had been in alliance for round 11 years between 1998 and 2009 and fought three Lok Sabha and two meeting elections collectively. When Janata Dal was cut up in 1998, Patnaik fashioned his personal occasion and joined the Vajpayee-led BJP authorities, as the metal and mines minister.
The two events fought meeting polls collectively for the primary time in 2000 and once more in 2004.
(With PTI inputs)
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