With BJD vice-president Damodar Rout’s proposal for an alliance of the ruling party with the Congress in the next elections creating sensation in the political circles, BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday broke his silence to put all speculations to rest.
Patnaik took to the micro-blogging site Twitter saying the BJD is “equidistant from Congress & BJP. With the blessings of our people, we will continue in our fight for the rights of #Odisha.”
With this, Patnaik made it amply clear that the BJD would go solo in the elections in 2019 in its bid to come to power for a fifth consecutive time.
Big question is why Patnaik did not face the media to clarify his party’s stand following Rout’s bombshell offer to the Congress for a coalition with the BJD. And why he did not pull up Rout for going public with such a major political move when the BJD’s avowed policy is equidistance from the Congress and the BJP.
This led to speculations that in the face of the BJP’s increasing efforts to wrest power from the BJD in the next elections, Patnaik might have used Rout for such kite flying about an alliance with the Congress to assess its ramifications. He had earlier chastised his party leaders who issued pro-BJP statements.
Before Patnaik Tweeted his view, Rout on the day had also repeated his suggestion for a tie-up with the Congress to counter the “communal” BJP.