BJD is united, too early for a third front, says Patnaik

NEWDELHI:Quashing rumours of his failing health and an internal feud in his party, Odisha chief minister and BJD boss Naveen Patnaik chaired a rare meeting of his MPs here on Monday.

“There is no infighting in the party. We are all united,” Patnaik said after an hour-long meeting in which he asked his MPs to demand more aggressively the release of funds for schemes from the Narendra Modi government.

Patnaik’s meeting in his party office in the Parliament building assumes significance after the BJP gained significant ground in the recent civic polls in Odisha. His meeting also took place in the backdrop of senior MP Tathagata Satpathy publicly blaming a colleague of hobnobbing with the BJP.

Patnaik steered a different path from other Opposition parties on most of the issues, including the EVM controversy. “We are yet to apply our mind,” the CM told HT on the issue. He also maintained that “possibilities of a third front is too early to think” even as he met his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee later for an exclusive chat in the Central Hall of the Parliament.

BJD sources said that since the BJP may depend on the party’s votes for the forthcoming Presidential poll, Patnaik is keen to exploit the opportunity to extract more funds and schemes for his state. He selected five MPs and entrusted them to “coordinate” with their respective ministries for this purpose.

Patnaik also promised his MPs that he will hold such meetings in Delhi more frequently, an indication that he may like to play a larger role in Opposition politics ahead of the 2019 polls.