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By Aditya Vaibhav: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday eliminated the possibility of joining any alliance for the 2024 national election, declaring that his party Biju Janata Dal (BJD) will go solo in next year’s Lok Sabha polls as it has always done. He stated that he would not be a part of any third front.
“There is no possibility of a third front as far as I am concerned. There are no meetings lined up with other political leaders. I met Nitish Kumar and it was a courtesy call,” Naveen Patnaik said, talking about his recent meeting with the Bihar chief minister.
The saffron party used the opportunity and launched a series of attacks on the opposition, questioning their intentions behind uniting against the BJP.
“Nitish Kumar is daydreaming, and Patnaik showed him his place,” said BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand.
Nikhil Anand further accused Bihar CM Nitish Kumar of leaving the state to the mercy of the mafia and said, “The chief minister is wandering across the country to foster Opposition unity as was mentioned in the secret deal he had with the Rashtriya Janata Dal, prior to forming Mahagathbandhan 2.0.”
ALSO READ | No possibility of any third front, says Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik after meeting PM Modi
Reacting to BJP’s salvo, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) spokesperson Ejaz Ahmad told India Today the critical issues of the current situation require political parties to come together against the BJP.
He further said the BJP is now attempting to divert public attention to trivial matters in response to the Opposition’s efforts to unite.
Nitish Kumar, who is actively working to foster opposition unity, has ruled out any ambition for the post of prime minister, said JDU spokesperson Abhishek Jha.
Abhishek Jha further said that the BJP is anxious to see the positive response the Bihar CM is receiving from other regional leaders. Abhishek Jha further criticised the BJP for misinterpreting statements made by Nitish Kumar and Odisha CM Navin Patnaik, asserting that their positions were aligned.
Nitish Kumar’s recent visit to Odisha was seen as an effort to forge alliance between Mahagathbandhan and Biju Janata Dal, but it primarily focused on a land transaction for the construction of a Bihar Bhawan in Puri.
Nitish Kumar has been travelling to various state capitals, including West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Delhi, in his attempt to unite the opposition against the BJP for the upcoming General elections.
ALSO READ | Why Nitish, Naveen Patnaik discussed everything but ‘Opposition alliance’
NAVEEN PATNAIK MEETS PM MODI
Days after meeting Nitish Kumar, Naveen Patnaik met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday evening and called it a “courtesy call.”
Reiterating BJD’s position of remaining equidistant from both the Congress and the BJP, Odisha CM said he met the prime minister to raise issues related to his state.
In the meeting that lasted around 20-25 minutes, Patnaik raised issues related to infrastructure development in the state, including the under-construction Sri Jagannath Airport, incomplete national highways and opening of bank branches in Gram Panchayat which do not have the facility.
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