Click to play videoNew Delhi/ Bhubaneswar: The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Biju Janata Dal ended their decade-old alliance in Orissa on Saturday after failing to agree on the number of seats each party wanted to contest in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
Orissa Chief Minister and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik on Saturday evening announced in Bhubaneswar the parties would contest elections separately.
"Unfortunately the seat-sharing talks between BJD and BJP have failed. Therefore, we will go to the polls separately," he said. "The formula proposed by BJP is unacceptable to us."
Patnaik made the announcement minutes after a last round of talks he had with BJP Rajya Sabha MP Chandan Mitra, who had came to Bhubaneswar as special emissary of BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate L K Advani.
BJD Rajya Sabha MP Jay Panda told CNN-IBN his party’s focus was on “win-ability” of seats and it could not agree with the BJP. "We unfortunately could not agree with the BJP. The focus was on winnability,” said Panda.
Panda refused to comment on whether the BJD would tie up with the Third Front, the eight-party alliance formed last week. “We will do whatever to protect Orissa's interests in the state and at the Centre,” said Panda.
BJP pulls out of Patnaik government
The BJP, after Patnaik’s statement, announced it was withdrawing support to his government. BJP legislature party leader Bishwabhushan Harichandan said his party with 30 MLAs has withdrawn support to the state government and would meet the Governor to convey their decision.
The BJP recently firmed up alliances with the Rashtriya Lok Dal in Uttar Pradesh and the Asom Gana Parishad in Assam but may have to look for more partners after losing the BJD.
CNN-IBN’s Chief Political Correspondent Sumit Pande reports the break-off in Orissa would hurt the BJP. The state has 147 Assembly seats and BJD wanted to contest more than 100 seats of them and leave around 40 for the BJP.
Of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in the state, the BJD wanted to contest 12 seats and leave nine for the BJP. The BJP wanted more Lok Sabha seats in lieu of giving the BJD Assembly seats but it failed in the bargaining.
Pande reports the political buzz is that the BJD in touch with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, which has influence in the state’s tribal areas neighbouring Jharkhand, and the Left parties.
The BJD and BJP jointly fought the Lok Sabha polls in 1998, 1999 and 2004 and the assembly elections of 2000 and 2004. In both assembly polls, the BJP contested 63 seats and BJD 84. In the general elections, the BJP contested nine seats and BJD 12.
The trouble started when the BJD said it wanted to contest more seats in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls as its popularity had increased. But BJP leaders wanted to maintain the old ratio
"The BJP should realise the ground reality if it sincerely wants to make L K Advani the prime minister and Naveen Patnaik the chief minister of Orissa," said Damodar Rout, BJD spokesperson and secretary general earlier on Saturday.
Orissa will go to the polls over two phases April 16 and April 23 to elect 147 members to the state legislative assembly and 21 members to the Lok Sabha.
Voting for 10 Lok Sabha seats and 70 Assembly seats, located mostly in the western and southern districts of the state, will be held in the first phase and the rest in the second phase.
(With inputs from IANS and PTI. )
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