Lok Sabha elections 2024: Amid the speculations of a attainable alliance between the ruling BJD and Opposition BJP in Odisha for the Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections, each events held separate conferences on the potential for a tie-up, nonetheless, none of them are forthcoming about whether or not they would contest the upcoming polls collectively after over a decade. Odisha Chief Minister and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik on Thursday night despatched his shut aide VK Pandian and the celebration’s organizational secretary Pranap Prakash Das to New Delhi for a dialogue with the highest brass of the saffron celebration. However, the main points of the dialogue are but not identified.
On Thursday, the BJD leaders held a gathering after which they mentioned that the celebration’s resolution could be within the ‘larger interest of the state’, however a number of legislators had been uncertain whether or not they might contest the following elections.
“Nobody has any idea whether he or she would be able to contest. Any seat may fall in the share of either party,” mentioned a BJD chief who attended the assembly at Naveen Niwas, the residence of Naveen Patnaik.
Even very senior leaders of the BJD had been uncertain if they might contest from their current seats, he mentioned whereas additionally including that the celebration’s electoral alliance was damaged precisely 15 years in the past on March 8, 2009, after the BJP demanded for extra seats.
Though two events have agreed on precept to sew an alliance, the seat sharing components between them is but to be formulated.
According to the BJD insiders, the ruling celebration which has 114 MLAs within the 147-member Odisha Assembly would love to retain its seats within the alliance whereas the BJP has been urgent on 55 seats.
While BJD desires not less than 112 meeting seats leaving the remaining 35 for the BJP, it has not been accepted by the leaders of the saffron celebration.
BJD’s confidence of victory
Ahead of the alliance thought got here to the fore, the BJD chief Sasmit Patra had claimed that the regional celebration would win in 120 seats.
The BJP which has 8 MPs within the Lok Sabha from Odisha, in flip, has been demanding 14 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats within the state. But the BJD is prepared to concede solely 10, sources mentioned.
“Whatever decision our central and state leadership take, we will abide by that,” Lekhasree Samantsinghar, Odisha BJP’s vice-president, mentioned including that your entire BJP state management together with its president Manmohan Samal has been tenting in Delhi.
BJP sources mentioned that the state leaders held a marathon dialogue on the residence of Vijay Pal Singh Tomar, the BJP election in-charge for Odisha.
The state BJP leaders had been informed to keep for one or two extra days within the nationwide capital until seat sharing is finalised.
BJD-BJP alliance previously
The BJD and the BJP had been in alliance for round 11 years between 1998 and 2009 and fought three Lok Sabha and two Assembly elections collectively.
When Janata Dal was break up in 1998, Patnaik shaped his personal celebration and joined the Vajpayee-led BJP authorities, because the metal and mines minister.
The two events fought Assembly polls collectively for the primary time in 2000 and once more in 2004.
Earlier, the seat sharing ratio between BJD and BJP was 4:3. While BJD contested 84 Assembly and 12 Lok Sabha seats, the BJP fought in 63 Assembly and 9 Lok Sabha seats.
The alliance received 17 of 21 seats within the 1998 basic elections with a 48.7 per cent vote share. The alliance once more bettered their tally to 19 seats in 1999, which barely got here down to 18 in 2004.
(With PTI inputs)
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