Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is most eligible to become the Prime Minister, said Biju Janata Dal (BJD) vice-president Surjya Narayan Patro here on Friday.
Speaking to mediapersons, Patro said, “Once upon a time, talks were doing the rounds that legendary leader late Biju Patnaik will become Prime Minister. It will be a matter of great pride for Odisha if his son Naveen Patnaik becomes Prime Minister.”
He was responding to question on UPA leader Sonia Gandhi’s invitation to Patnaik to attend a meeting of non-BJP leaders in New Delhi on May 23, the day the general elections results will be announced.
Patro, however, stated that if at all, Patnaik should not be made Prime Minister with the backing of the Congress. It has been seen in the past that the Congress “pulled the legs” of anyone who had become Prime Minister with its support, he said.
On the BJD’s stand of equidistance from the BJP and the Congress, Patro said the regional outfit would no longer adopt this decade-old policy.
“CM Naveen has already made it clear that BJD will no longer maintain equidistance from Congress and BJP. It will extend its support to the party that works and protects the interest of Odisha and supports its genuine demands,” Patro stated. It was yet to be ascertained whether Patro commented on the equidistance issue with Naveen Patnaik’s consent. If Patnaik has in fact changed the BJD’s policy of equidistance from the two national parties, it is another indication that the BJP and the BJD are further cozying up to each other in the post-2019 election scenario.