Patnaik rules out tie up with BJP

The Odisha Chief Minister says the Third Front was a "very healthy" option.

Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik at the inaugural session of Conference of Chief Ministers on "Public Order" in New Delhi on Monday.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday ruled out his party BJD having any tie up with its former ally BJP in the next general elections, and maintained that the Third Front was a “very healthy” option.

“There is no question of any alliance with BJP,” he told reporters on the sideline of a conference here.

He was responding to a question on the possibility of Biju Janata Dal joining hands with BJP again in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

Asked whether there was any chances of revival of the Third Front, Mr. Patnaik said, “I think the Third Front is a very healthy option. But it is still early days.”

BJD, which has been ruling the eastern state since 1999, had an alliance with BJP till 2009. However, the regional party snapped ties with BJP just before the 2009 Odisha Assembly elections. The party has 14 members in Lok Sabha.

The party was a constituent of Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government in which Mr. Patnaik held a Cabinet berth.