Bhubaneswar: Amid the mystery of the BJP-BJD alliance, Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement at a conference in New Delhi added more confusion to the story.
While Shah did not rule out the possibility of an alliance between the two political parties, he said the Prime Minister and the party president have not yet decided how to proceed in Odisha. However, he stressed that the BJP will improve its performance in both the Lok Sabha and the Assembly in the upcoming elections in Odisha.
On whether an alliance between major political parties is philosophically possible, Shah said, in hardline politics, wins and losses have to be calculated. He said that apart from this, similarity has to be seen in the ideological outlook of both the parties.
Meanwhile, everything remained normal in the BJP camp with a former MLA and an actor-turned-politician joining the saffron party, while there was complete silence in the BJD camp on Friday.
However, leaders of both the parties privately said that the decision on alliance will be taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
BJD sources said the chief minister may visit New Delhi in a day or two to discuss the seat-sharing formula with senior BJD leaders and the top BJP leadership.
Despite all the turmoil in both the camps, an atmosphere of restlessness is visible among the ticket claimants as well as the workers.
Most of the leaders were confused about when, how and where the alliance would be formed. However, some of them expect a formal announcement to be made in the next two to three days.
