Lok Sabha elections 2024: Pre-poll alliance talks between BJP and BJD collapse
Indian PM and BJP leader Narendra Modi and BJD President Naveen Patnaik
The negotiations between the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the ruling party of Odisha state, for a pre-poll alliance collapsed after disagreements emerged over seat sharing.
The stand-off erupted after both parties failed to resolve differences over two seats—Bhubaneswar and Puri.
The BJP said it will focus on contesting the polls in the state alone. BJP State President Manmohan Samal said, "We had gone to Delhi to hold discussions with the central leaders on our preparations for the upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly elections in the state. No talks on alliance or seat-sharing with any party were held during the meeting. The BJP will contest the twin polls on its own strength."
Disagreement over seat sharing
Both BJP and BJP agreed to the idea of securing a pre-poll alliance but they failed to reach an agreement over seat-sharing.
The BJD wanted to contest over 100 seats in the 147-member Odisha Assembly, an offer that the BJP rejected vehemently. On the other hand, the BJP sought 14 out of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha, a proposition that the BJD rejected. In the 2019 general elections, the BJD had secured 12 seats, while the BJP won eight out of the total 21.
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It must be noted that the BJD was a part of the BJP-backed National Democratic Alliance (NDA) before it parted ways in 2009 following failed seat-sharing talks.
Big jolt to Congress in MP
Meanwhile, India’s biggest opposition party Congress suffered a major blow in Madhya Pradesh state on Saturday (Mar 9) as former union minister and Congress leader Suresh Pachouri and former MP Gajendra Singh Rajukhedi joined the BJP.
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Several other leaders who were expected to join BJP are former MLAs Sanjay Shukla, Vishal Patel, former MLA from Piparia Arjun Palia, and former state NSUI president Atul Sharma.
The exodus from Congress comes ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in which more than 950 million people would vote to fill the lower house of the Indian Parliament.
(With inputs from agencies)