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Odisha Panchayat elections: Nabarangpur leader says Congress may tie up with BJP to stop BJD

In the state’s 30 Zilla Parishads, the BJD has so far won clear majority in 16, and the BJP in eight. The Congress has secured only Jharsuguda district so far.

WHILE “CONGRESS-MUKT Bharat” has been PM Narendra Modi’s mantra from before he assumed office, in Odisha’s Nabarangpur district a senior Congress leader said the party is not averse to coming to an understanding with the BJP to stop the “bigger enemy” — the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) – in the Zilla Parishad.
The five-phased panchayat polls, which ended Tuesday, did not leave a clear winner in Nabarangpur. Of 26 Zilla Parishad (ZP) zones, the BJD won 11, followed by the Congress (8) and the BJP (7).

Congress leader and former MP Pradip Majhi said his party would soon start talks with the BJP to stake claim for the ZP president’s post. The post is reserved for women, and both Congress and BJP have one woman leader each among their winning candidates.

BJP national secretary Suresh Pujari, however, said that the BJP cannot have any truck with the Congress as a matter of principle.

 

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Majhi said, “Our party and the BJP have fought the hegemony of BJD in the district for long. In Raighar block, in particular (both parties are opposed to BJD). In the panchayat polls, our party and BJP had an understanding, following which we left eight seats for each other…BJP-supported candidates won in most of the 26-member Raighar panchayat samiti.”

Majhi said that although the Congress and the BJP are rivals at the national level, there are certain local constraints. “We see BJD as a bigger enemy,” he said. “We are definitely going to make all efforts to stop the BJD from getting the post of ZP president.”

Festive offer

BJP’s Pujari said, “The Congress is our main rival, (and) an alliance is always done at the highest level. We will take a look at the political position in Nabarangpur and take a decision.”

In the state’s 30 Zilla Parishads, the BJD has so far won clear majority in 16, and the BJP in eight. The Congress has secured only Jharsuguda district so far. There is still no clarity in five Zilla Parishads, including Nabarangpur.

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With the BJP making huge inroads in the local body elections, CM and BJD president Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday asked his party’s MLAs to take the results as a “wake-up call”. Addressing the BJD’s legislature party meeting ahead of the Budget Session, he said, “You should not be disheartened by the reverses (faced by BJD). I advise you to take this signal seriously as a wake-up call and get reconnected to the people and workers at the grassroots level.”

Stating that he is “seriously concerned at the poor performance of the party in certain districts”, Patnaik said, “I am not very happy with some MLAs who could not perform well. There may be specific reasons for their failure, which need to be seriously introspected upon.”

First uploaded on: 23-02-2017 at 01:44 IST
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