Amid talks of mid-term general elections, BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday said they are always prepared to face poll anytime. Simultaneous elections have worked well for the BJD, he said.
Patnaik, who returned from New Delhi, however, clarified that the BJD would retain its policy of equidistance from the Congress and the BJP, thereby putting latest speculations of a possible alliance between his party and the BJP to rest.
“We are ready for polls anytime,” Patnaik said while replying a query on whether the BJD Government would agree to go in for advancement of Assembly elections.
Notably, the Patnaik-led BJD, which is in power in the State since 2000, had advanced the Assembly polls slated for 2005 and held it along with lok Sabha elections in 2004. At that time, while the BJP failed to retain its power at the Centre, the regional party got a clean electoral sweep in the State.
However, the current political scenario and particularly the BJP’s rise in the State may pose some threat to the BJD.
The next Assembly elections in Odisha are due in 2019.
The Centre is contemplating to hold early polls along with elections in a few States in November-December 2018. The States including Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Mizoram and Chhattisgarh are going to polls in November-December 2018.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been batting for simultaneous elections to lok Sabha and State Assemblies.