The ruling BJD, which had initially planned to contest in all lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies, has realised that it can do better in the two tribal-dominated districts of Mayurbhanj and Sundargarh only with a tie-up with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), which has strong bases in these two districts.
No wonder, two days after the announcement of the schedule for the general elections, BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday announced that his party would go in for a seat-sharing arrangement with the JMM in the two districts. The announcement came after a preliminary round of discussions Patnaik had with JMM State president Sudam Marandi at the Naveen Nivas earlier in the day.
Patnaik said the BJD and the JMM would do “extremely well” in the two districts because of their mutual seat adjustments. Marandi, when asked, said it is yet to be decided as to how many and which seats would be earmarked for sharing between the two parties. It was also not known if the BJD, apart from leaving some Assembly constituencies to the JMM, would agree to concede any lok Sabha seat to the party, sources said.
Naveen Patnaik reportedly decided for a tie-up with the JMM after shunting the lone Minister from Mayurbhanj, Sarojini Hembram, to Rajya Sabha only to appease Sudam Marandi. Marandi said the JMM decided to have an alliance with the BJD because it would foster development of the backward Mayurbhanj and Sundargarh districts. Mayurbhanj district has one Parliamentary constituency and seven Assembly seats while Sundargarh has one Parliamentary and nine Assembly seats.