Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Odisha BJP Signals Solo Run Amidst Alliance Impasse

The announcement that the Odisha BJP will contest the upcoming assembly and Lok Sabha elections alone was made on Friday evening. This decision followed a reported stalemate in alliance talks with the ruling BJD, where neither side was willing to concede to the other's demands.

Upon his return to Odisha from Delhi on Friday, BJP state president Manmohan Samal declared that there had been no discussions regarding alliance or seat-sharing during his visit. He emphasized that the BJP would independently contest the elections and secure victory based on its strength.

Photo Credit: PTI

The leaders of the BJD, VK Pandian and Pranab Prakash Das, who had travelled to Delhi on Thursday evening to address pre-poll alliance issues with central BJP leaders, also returned to Bhubaneswar. However, they chose to remain silent on the matter.

Stalemate Reached in BJP-BJD Alliance Talks

Sources cited by PTI reported that an alliance had been agreed upon by the two parties, but now both are seeking a larger share of seats. According to PTI, over 100 out of 147 Odisha assembly seats were demanded by the BJD.

"A demand for about 75 per cent of the assembly seats is being made by the BJD, which is not acceptable to us," stated a senior BJP leader to the news agency, adding that such a situation would adversely impact the saffron party's prospects in the state.

The BJD, on the other hand, is not willing to comply with the BJP's demand for 14 of the state's 21 Lok Sabha seats. "It would be suicidal for us if less than 10 LS seats are contested," expressed a senior BJD leader.

BJD and BJP's Political History in Odisha: From Allies to Rivals"

In the Odisha assembly elections of 2019, the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD secured victory with 112 seats, while they also claimed 12 Lok Sabha seats. In contrast, the BJP managed to win eight Lok Sabha seats.

Between 1998 and 2009, the BJP and BJD were allies. During this period, Patnaik served as the minister of steel and mines in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.

In the 1998 general elections, the alliance clinched victory in 17 out of 21 seats with a 48.7 percent vote share. Subsequently, their tally increased to 19 seats in 1999, slightly dropping to 18 in 2004.