The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) have both decided to go solo in Odisha for the upcoming Lok Sabha election, ending all speculation about the revival of their alliance.
BJP insiders attributed the development to concerns over the BJD’s internal succession plan, for which the BJP did not want to provide a shield; the party’s State chief added that the welfare schemes of the Narendra Modi-led Union government were not reaching people in the State. The BJD, however, vowed to win three-fourths of the seats on its own, invoking the “spirit of cooperative federalism”.
