Bhubaneswar, Mar 19: Amid the alliance speculation with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), BJD leader and 5T Chairman VK Pandian said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik does not need an alliance to form government in Odisha.
He also said the same thing about Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
While speaking at CNN-News18’s Rising Bharat Summit 2024, Pandian said, "Naveen Patnaik does not need an alliance to come back to power. I would say the same thing about Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Both political leaders do not need each other to retain power. PM Modi will form government in the Centre and CM Naveen will retain power in Odisha."
Pandian further stated that one of the key reasons behind Patnaik's success is that he doesn't think of politics as politics but as a public service.
Patnaik is so popular, meticulous, and futuristic that I am sure he must have planned the future. He always says the people of Odisha will decide his successor, he added.
It is worth mentioning that there has been a buzz that BJP and BJD may join hands for the upcoming Lok Sabha and Odisha Assembly polls. However, no official announcement in this regard is made yet.
On March 5, PM Modi praised CM Naveen and described him as a ‘friend’ during his visit to the state. The BJD, despite having the numbers, supported BJP candidate Ashwini Vaishnaw in the Rajya Sabha polls.
