Bhubaneswar, October 7: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Tuesday clarified that it will not support the Odisha Bandh called by the Congress for Thursday, reversing an earlier statement by senior party leader Pramila Mallik that the regional party would back the shutdown.

Mallik’s clarification came within around 30 minutes of her earlier announcement supporting the Congress-led bandh, triggering speculation over the reason behind the sudden change in the BJD’s stand.

Speaking at a press conference, Mallik said the BJD would maintain an independent position and extend support to issues concerning the interests of the people and the State, irrespective of whether other political parties supported the party’s agitations.

“Recently, we held an economic blockade in Sundargarh. Did anyone support us then? Wherever the interests of the people or the State are harmed, our beloved leader Naveen Patnaik has fought and the Biju Janata Dal has fought. We will stand by that fight,” she said.

Mallik added that the BJD had neither joined any alliance nor extended support to any political party, stressing that the party would maintain equal distance from all political outfits.

Her latest remarks contradicted her earlier statement in which she had said that the BJD would support Thursday’s Odisha Bandh. She had cited the party’s protests against the Election Commission of India, particularly over allegations of wrongful deletion of voters’ names from electoral rolls, as the reason for backing the shutdown.

“Our party (BJD) has extended support, and we have already protested against the Election Commission of India’s actions, particularly the alleged wrongful removal of voters from the electoral rolls. Therefore, we will support tomorrow’s strike and extend our full support to the movement,” Mallik had said earlier.

The sharp reversal within a short span has drawn considerable attention to the BJD’s position on the proposed bandh and raised questions over the circumstances that prompted the party to withdraw its earlier support.