2024 elections: No BJP-BJD alliance in Odisha
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday announced its decision to contest independently the upcoming Lok Sabha and Odisha Assembly elections. The announcement comes amid speculation of a possible alliance between the BJP and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal (BJD) for the polls. In a post on X, the BJP's Manmohan Samal said that the party will contest and win all the 21 Lok Sabha seats and all 147 seats of the Legislative Assembly in Odisha.
Why does this story matter?
Despite being the principal opposition in Odisha, the BJP maintains cordial relations with the ruling BJD at the Centre. The BJD has supported Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government on several issues—including passage of crucial bills in the Parliament. In August, Union Minister Amit Shah praised CM Patnaik during his visit to Odisha. A month later, Patnaik praised PM Modi's work during an event in Bhubaneswar. These incidents fuelled the speculation of a possible alliance between the two parties in Odisha.
BJP raises concerns over welfare scheme execution
Explaining the BJP's decision to contest the elections alone, Samal said, "Many welfare schemes of Modi government are not reaching the ground in Odisha...poor sisters and brothers...are not getting their benefits." "We have concerns on many issues related to Odisha-identity, Odisha-pride...interest of the people of Odisha," he added. "To fulfill the hopes, wishes and aspirations of 4.5 crore people of Odisha...to make a developed India and developed Odisha... BJP will contest the seats alone," the BJP state president said.
Read: Samal's full statement here
Alliance partners for over 10 years
According to reports, the BJD was optimistic about a potential alliance following remarks by CM Patnaik's aide VK Pandian, emphasizing that discussions with the BJP transcended politics. He added that both Modi and Patnaik did not need alliances to get re-elected. To recall, the BJP and the BJD ended their alliance in 2009 after a decade-long partnership from 1998 to 2009. The two parties contested three Lok Sabha and two assembly elections together during that period.
Representation of BJP, BJD in Lok Sabha, assembly
Odisha will vote for Lok Sabha and assembly elections simultaneously, in four phases, beginning May 13. The BJP presently has eight Lok Sabha MPs from Odisha and 23 MLAs in the Assembly. The ruling BJD has 112 MLAs and 12 MPs in the state. The BJP vote share in the 2014 assembly polls was 18%, which increased to 32.5% in 2019. In the Lok Sabha polls, the saffron party had bagged 38.9% votes in 2019 against 21.9% in 2014.
