Odisha’s political landscape is poised for keenly contested elections as alliance talks between the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state have come to a standstill. Disagreements over the distribution of seats in key constituencies like Bhubaneswar and Puri have led to a stalemate between the two parties. The BJP state president Manmohan Samal, after discussions in Delhi, has pronounced that the party will contest solo in all 147 assembly and 21 Lok Sabha constituencies in Odisha, indicating a move away from a potential pre-poll alliance.
The deadlock finds its roots in conflicting demands over seat-sharing where the BJD wanted to contest the majority of the state assembly seats, while the BJP demanded a larger share of the Lok Sabha constituencies. This marks a significant moment in the political history of Odisha, reminiscent of the split of the BJD from the NDA 15 years prior, a decision that the BJP had then predicted would lead to regret.
Both parties previously allied for 11 years, during which they contested elections together. However, leading up to the upcoming elections, the parties have taken a clear stance of independence as the Odisha BJP, although debating the matter with central leaders, has planned to assert itself alone in the polls. Similarly, BJD officials have also returned without finalizing an alliance, further emphasizing separate paths for the upcoming elections. Manmohan Samal’s declaration that the BJP aims to form the government in Odisha and win a landmark number of seats in the Lok Sabha nationally underlines the party’s ambition to forge ahead without the support of its one-time ally.