Should the BJD of Naveen Patnaik return to the Plé NDA led by the BJP after 15 years? – Firstpost

An official alliance between the Bharatiya Janata (BJP) party and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) of Odisha is probably on the cards. The main leaders of the two parties entered a group on Wednesday March 6 to draw the course of a possible coalition.

If an agreement is concluded, the BJD led by the chief minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik, will return to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Fold after 15 years. Speculations concerning a coalition between the two rivals of Odisha gained momentum after the Minister of the Union supported the BJD Ashwini Vahnaw to have it elected to Rajya Sabha during the recent elections.

What happened during meetings on Wednesday? Why did the BJD left the NDA block led by the BJP? How will the alliance help both parties before the crucial polls this year? Let’s take a closer look.

BJD, BJP leaders hold separate meetings

The high leaders of the BJD flocked to Naveen Niwas, the residence of Odisha CM Patnaik in Bhubaneswar, to deliberate the alliance. The chief minister would have taken the comments of his party leaders on membership of the NDA at a meeting that lasted half past three.

“In the discussions, it has been resolved that since 2036, Odisha will finish 100 years in his state of state and that the BJD and the chief minister have major milestones to be achieved at that time, so the BJD will do everything to This subject in the greater interests of people of Odisha and the State, ”according to a statement, Vice-President of the BJD Hindus.

https://twitter.com/PTI_News/status/1765394401189130675?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

BJP national president JP Nadda met the leaders of the Odisha Safran party at the party’s headquarters in Delhi.

The former Minister of Tribal Affairs of the Union, Jual Oram, who attended the meeting, said that the Odisha BJP unit had suggested fighting the elections. However, the central management would decide to forge an alliance or not.

“Since the BJP is a national political party, the final decision lies in central leadership. Whatever the decision of central leadership, it will be binding for everyone. There have been discussions on the alliance in the meeting, ”he was cited Indian Express.

The head of the BJD, VK Pandian, who would be a close assistant from CM Patnaik, also summoned several meetings with the central BJP leaders, reported Indian Express.

The buzz on a likely alliance between the two parties has been going on for some time. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Odisha twice since February. Addressing public rallies twice, he has not attacked the government of Odisha even if the BJP has become the main opponent of the BJD in the state in recent years.

Instead, the PM called Odisha’s CM as its “mitra (friend). “During his recent visit to the state this week, Modi described Patnaik as”Lokpriya (popular) »CM and suggested that the BJD will play a key role in the aim of 400 NDA seats in Lok Sabha’s polls in the summer.

The CM of Odisha also praised Modi, saying: “The Prime Minister established a new direction for India. It takes India to an accelerated will to make it an economic power. India is now the fifth largest economy that works to be number three in a few years “,” The Hindus reported.

When BJD got attached to BJP 15 years ago

Trained in 1997, the BJD forged an alliance with the BJP the following year. The two parties fought their first Lok Sabha surveys together in 1998, winning 16 out of 21 seats in Odisha and obtaining a part of a combined vote of 48.7%.

In Lok Sabha’s polls in 1999, the BJD-BJP Alliance scen a swing victory in Odisha with 19 seats, with a 57.6%vote.

The BJP and the BJD fought the elections of the Assembly of Odisha for the first time in 2000, Naveen Patnaik becoming the CM for the first time. They won 106 out of 147 seats with a 47.6%voting share. Of the 84 disputed seats, Patnaik’s party won 68 years, while the BJP won a victory out of 38 of the 63 seats allocated.

The success of the Alliance continued in 2004. In the polls of Lok Sabha, they won 18 of the 21 seats of Odisha, despite the Progressive Alliance (UPA) in power at the center.

In the surveys of the 2004 assembly, held simultaneously, the combine harvester obtained 93 seats and a share of 44.5%. With the same seats sharing formula, the BJD won 61 seats and the BJP obtained 32.

The alliance collapsed following the 2008 anti-Christian riots in Odisha who left 38 dead. The BJD broke the links with the BJP just before the 2009 elections.

The BJP disputed solo 145 of the 147 seats of the Assembly in 2009, but won only six with a share of 15.5%. He could not win a single Lok Sabha siege in Odisha that year.

On the other hand, the BJD won 103 of the 129 disputed seats, obtaining 38.9% of the votes in the elections of the 2009 assembly. It won 14 seats in the Lok Sabha polls with a share of vote 37.2%.

The BJD continued to maintain its influence in Odisha even when the Modi wave resumed the country in 2014. Patnaik’s party won 20 of the 21 seats in Lok Sabha in Odisha, with a 44.8%vote. The BJP could succeed in guaranteeing the remaining headquarters, with a 21.9%vote.

In 2019, the fortune of the BJP improved in Odisha, the party increasing its counting both in the polls of Lok Sabha and the Assembly. The saffron party won eight seats in Lok Sabha’s polls, while the BJD count fell at 12 years old. A seat was taken by the congress.

In the polls of the Assembly, the BJP has become the main opposition party to the BJD, winning 23 seats and 32.8% of voting. Patnaik has become the CM of Odisha for a record, his party winning victory in 113 seats.

How the alliance benefits both parties

The BJP and the BJD have maintained comfortable links since 2019. The Patnaik party supported the NDA at the center of crucial questions, in particular the Citizenship Act (Amendment), TPS, Demonetization, the bill on services Delhi, etc.

The alliance promotes both parties. While PM Modi aims to return for a third consecutive term to the center, Patnaik wishes to consolidate its oldest position in the history of India, noted Hindus.

According to reports, the link between the two parties could be announced Thursday, March 7. According to Indian Express Sources, the BJP could fight more seats in Lok Sabha, while the BJD could contest more than 100 of the 147 seats in total.

The alliance would be a big boost for the BJP, which seeks to return to power in the center in the next surveys of Lok Sabha. The party aims to win 370 seats in the lower room and set a goal of more than 400 for the NDA.

“The alliance will be a winner for both parties, because the BJP is more concerned with returning to power in the center with a record margin. With the BJD in search of a sixth consecutive term in Odisha, a link with the BJP, the main opposition party, will also guarantee a smooth victory, “said a leader in the Senior BJD Indian Express.

The alliance would also help the BJP increase the total of NDA in the Rajya Sabha where the block does not yet enjoy a majority. The BJD has nine deputies in the upper room.

“As the BJP has already established its political and electoral domination in the States of the Hindi heart, the leadership wants to see the party growing in the eastern and southern states. It would be a major jump in his journey to him, “said a senior party official, quoted by Indian Express.

With agency entries