Narendra Modi with Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik during the inauguration of various developmental projects, in Sambalpur in Feb 2024.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: A possible alliance between the Biju Janata Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Party is “beyond politics" since both sides do not “need” each other, BJD leader and Naveen Patnaik aide VK Pandian said on Monday. Speaking at the CNN-News18 'Rising India Summit 2024', Pandian, who is believed to be working at stitching the alliance, said the coming together of the two leaders is about statesmanship.
“Naveen Patnaik is undoubtedly going to be chief minister of Odisha and Narendra Modi is going to be the PM of the country. He does not require the BJP’s support to win the sixth term in Odisha and serve the people. I would say the same thing about Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But there is something which is beyond politics. It is a mark of great statesmanship. That is how I put it,” Pandian said.
He added that despite being in power for more than two decades, Patnaik’s popularity has not weaned. “He is so popular that he gets three-fourths majority every time in the state,” he said, adding that the BJD bagged 90% of the seats in the zilla parishad, with BJP winning only 5% of the seats.
Pandian’s comments have added to the buzz that both the parties are working towards a possible alliance for the Lok Sabha as well as the assembly elections in Odisha. Pandian was in Delhi earlier this month to meet the party leadership, and even when an alliance looked plausible, talks remained inconclusive.
The BJD, an earlier constituent of the NDA, had broken away in 2009, but the party has never taken an adversarial stand against the Modi government.