1. BJP and BJD’s anticipated alliance for the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections has crumbled.
2. BJP’s state president denies alliance talks, asserts sole focus on election preparations.
3.Both parties opt to contest independently after disagreements over seat-sharing ratios.
Bhubaneswar, March 10: As the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 draw near, the anticipated alliance talks between Odisha’s ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have faltered, leading to both parties deciding to contest the polls independently.
BJP state president Manmohan Samal clarified that his recent visit to Delhi was solely focused on election preparations, denying any discussions regarding an alliance with the BJD. He emphasized that the BJP is gearing up to contest the elections on its own.
What Led to the Breakdown?
The alliance talks stumbled primarily over the issue of seat-sharing. Although both parties initially expressed willingness for a pre-poll alliance, disagreements arose over the distribution of seats.
The BJD aimed to contest over 100 seats out of the 147-member Odisha Assembly, a proposition that the BJP found untenable. Conversely, the BJP sought 14 out of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha, a demand that the BJD rejected.
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In the 2019 general elections, the BJD secured 12 Assembly seats, while the BJP won eight in Odisha.
The BJD’s insistence on a significant share of assembly seats posed a challenge for the BJP, which deemed such a scenario detrimental to its electoral prospects in the state.
Meanwhile, the BJD leadership emphasized the importance of contesting a substantial number of Lok Sabha seats, stating that participating in less than 10 constituencies would be “suicidal” for the party.
Historical Context: The BJD-BJP alliance had a significant presence in Odisha’s political landscape for approximately 11 years, spanning from 1998 to 2009.
During this period, they contested three Lok Sabha and two assembly elections together, forming a formidable electoral force.
The alliance, forged in 1998 under the leadership of senior figures such as Bijay Mohapatra and the late Pramod Mahajan, played a pivotal role in shaping the state’s political dynamics.
Despite their historical collaboration, the recent breakdown in alliance talks underscores the shifting dynamics and diverging interests between the two parties as they chart their electoral strategies for the upcoming polls.
