Ruling out all the speculations of joining a third front floated by some regional parties earlier, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said on Thursday the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) will go solo in next year's Lok Sabha polls as it has always done.
The statement came days after JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar met him amid efforts to forge a united opposition. Over the last few days, Kumar has met leaders of various non-BJP parties in his attempt to cobble together a united front against the ruling party in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Patnaik, who also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss developmental issues related to his state, also ruled out joining any third front, a plan floated by
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He reiterated the BJD's position of remaining equidistant from both the Congress and the BJP. He also described Bihar Chief Minister Kumar visiting him in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday as a "courtesy call".
Patnaik has been at the helm in Odisha since 2000 and his BJD is among some regional parties that have maintained a neutral stand on the issues involving clashes between the ruling BJP and Opposition. At times, it has supported the BJP in Parliament as well.
What did Parnaik discuss with PM Modi?
Patnaik said he met the prime minister to raise issues related to his state.
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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.
Asked about his meeting with Kumar, and the possibility of a 'third front' emerging, Patnaik said, "No, not as far as I'm concerned, not now".
Asked if the BJD will fight the upcoming elections alone, he said, "That has always been the case".
Patnaik, who is in Delhi till Friday, also clarified that he has no plans of meeting any other leaders in the current trip.
On his meeting with Kumar on Tuesday, he said, "It was a courtesy call, he paid a visit. It went off well."
On Tuesday after the meeting, both Patnaik and Kumar had claimed that no discussion were held on any political alliance between the JD(U) and BJD for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
(With PTI Inputs)
