Doubts have emerged over possibility of electoral alliance between the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the Left parties as the ruling BJD seems to be planning to contest all Assembly seats in Ganjam district during coming Assembly elections without handing over anything to the CPI.
This hints that the party may be thinking to go all alone in the coming elections without opting for pre-election alliance with Left parties. It is suggested by the recent political activities of the BJD in Chatrapur and Sanakhemundi Assembly segments as well as public meetings of the BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in both these areas.
It may be noted that Ganjam district happens to be a key zone for the BJD as it is the home district of the BJD chief, Mr. Patnaik. During the Assembly polls in 2009, as part of electoral alliance, the BJD had left the CPI to contest from Chatrapur and Sanakhemundi Assembly seats. But this time the BJD has started all preparations to contest from these two Assembly seats, which had been earlier contested by the CPI. Speaking to The Hindu , Ganjam district president of the BJD, Subash Moharana said they have already started organising the party from panchayat level in these two Assembly segments. “The BJD undoubtedly has better mass following in these two Assembly segments as in the Zilla Parishad (ZP) elections, which were fought on party symbols the BJD candidates had won by margin of around 15,000 votes from these two Assembly segments. It may be noted that during ZP elections there was no electoral ties between the BJD and the CPI in these segments,” he said. He added that majority of the sarpanches and Panchyat Samity members of these two Assembly segments were supporters of the BJD.
Mr. Mohapatra did not forget to add that some CPI activists of Chatrapur area had already joined the BJD and once BJD declares to contest from Chatrapur, a large number of young members of the CPI may join the BJD. During the public meeting of the BJD president at Patapur in Sanakhemundi area on January 20, a group of Congress supporters had joined the BJD, which had hinted that the BJD was interested to contest from this seat. State ministers Surya Narayan Patra and Bikram Keshari Arukh, who were also present in the Patapur meeting had also expressed that the BJD was considering to contest from Chatrapur and Sanakhemundi Assembly seats. The BJD president had also taken part in a large rally to show up strength of his party in Chatrapur through a public meeting on December 30.
