BJP, BJD to go solo in Odisha as talks fail

The BJD, however, vowed to win threefourths of the seats on its own, invoking the “spirit of cooperative federalism”.

After 17 days of talks ended in a stalemate, Mr. Samal declared on Friday that the proposed alliance was off the cards. “This time, the BJP will contest independently across all 21 Lok Sabha and 147 assembly seats, aiming to foster a developed India and Odisha under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The goal is to realise the hopes and aspirations of 4.5 crore people of Odisha.” he posted on X.

Hours later, the regional party followed suit, with BJD organising secretary Pranab Prakash Das saying the party would “win more than threefourth seats under the leadership of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik”.

A senior BJP leader involved in Odisha affairs told The Hindu that the relationship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was one of “mutual respect and regard”. However, the BJP had strong feelings with regard to the BJD’s internal issues.

Mr. Patnaik’s longtime aide V.K. Pandian formally joined the BJD, and is being seen by many as the man who may succeed the BJD chief. “The BJP did not want to be a party, or to be a means of electorally endorsing that succession, especially since, for the last few years, we have been the principal Opposition in the State. It seemed that in this deal, the BJD would gain much, a nonelection, basically, and we would be stuck with justifying the BJD’s succession plan,” the leader said.

The real test for the BJP now will be to convince the electorate that this was an alliance that they weighed and found wanting, as well as justify their reasons for walking out of the negotiations. In a way, the BJP will have to combat not just Mr. Patnaik but also his succession plan.