By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: The Naveen Patnaik led Biju Janata Dal, which failed to strike an alliance with BJP for the ensuing Lok Sabha and Assembly Polls, in Odisha, on Friday, through its General secretary (Organisation), Pranab Prakash Das alias Babby Das , aired its views regarding polls.
With as many as two serving Chief Ministers read, Hemant Soren of Jharkhand and Arvind Kejriwal of Delhi, facing arrest and cooling their heels in Jails following massive corruption charges, the BJD Government which also faces massive corruption charges like Mining scam to Chit fund scam, seems apprehensive about a possible ED and CBI onslaught on it if it makes Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP’s Central leadership angry. So , the party, even after failing to strike an alliance, preferred to issue well drafted statement instead of some hard –hitting posts , political analysts said.
BJD’s announcement to fight in all 147 Assembly seats and 21 Lok Sabha seats came just hours after BJP State President Manmohan Samal through a social media post, made it clear that the Saffron Party will fight alone in twin polls in Odisha ending all speculation over alliance with BJD.
‘BJP will fight alone this time in all 21 Lok Sabha and 147 Assembly seats to create a developed India and a developed Odisha under the visionary leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to fulfill the hopes, aspirations and aspirations of four and a half crore Odias,” Samal had earlier posted.
BJD leader Babby Das posted a very well-guarded statement which reads like this “BJD will continue to take decisions keeping people of Odisha in the forefront always and their welfare in true spirit of ‘cooperative federalism’ and ‘statesmanship’ required for nation building,”.
‘BJD will contest in all 147 assembly constituencies and all 21 Lok Sabha constituencies with the support of people of Odisha and win more than three fourth seats under the leadership of Shri Naveen Patnaik. NewOdisha and EmpoweredOdisha will be our goal and we are on track to achieve this under the leadership of our leader Shri Naveen Patnaik,’ he added.
‘With the blessings of Lord Jagannatha and the faith of people of Odisha, BJD has been serving the state and transforming it like never before in every sector, Babby Das said in a x post.
‘State leaders of the BJP – reluctant to share their fiefdoms and areas of influence – too were opposed to the move primarily spearheaded in Delhi by the Union railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw along Patnaik’s trusted aide and BJD second-in-command VK Pandian, writes Senior Journalist Ruben Banerjee in the federal.com.
‘The top BJD duo of Patnaik and Pandian were seeking an extension of the same ‘insurance’ for an equally smooth run for at least the next 2-3 years by sealing a tie-up with the BJP, wrote Banerjee.
‘Even in the future, he may still have to extend numerical support to Modi in the Parliament if the need be. After all, an aging Chief Minister can ill afford to invite the wrath of a powerful Prime Minister elected thrice,” added Banerjee.
