BJD-BJP polls talks deadlocked

Bhubaneswar, January 17: Talks between Biju Janata Dal BJD and Bharatiya Janata Party BJP over seat sharing has reached a deadlock wit...

Bhubaneswar, January 17: Talks between Biju Janata Dal BJD and Bharatiya Janata Party BJP over seat sharing has reached a deadlock with both the alliance partners sticking to their stand to garner maximum number of seats. With pressure mounting from aspirants and workers, the poll managers of the two allies are not prepared to compromise on their decisions.

While the steering committee of the BJD which met here at the Naveen Nivas on Sunday reiterated its decision to contest from as many as 122 seats, the BJP thinks that the demand from its alliance partner is preposterous8217;. The BJP started the exercise to identify winning candidates in all the 147 constituencies at its Election Committee meeting on Sunday.

The steering committee meeting which was attended by BJD chief Naveen Patnaik besides the five members insisted that the party should have a major say in seat distribution and contest 122 seats leaving BJP only 25 seats. A member of the steering committee told The Indian Express that the party can leave another 20 seats for BJP. But the BJD8217;s claim for 100 seats is non-negotiable, he added.

The steering committee maintained that the BJP which has demanded 50:50 share in seats should come forward with a formula and a cutoff year.

The BJP is also not prepared to buckle under pressure from the BJD8217;s big brotherly attitude. BJP insiders maintained that the situation has undergone a sea change within the last few years when the two parties joined hands to form the alliance in 1998. If there should be any cutoff year, it should be the 1999 Lok Sabha elections and not 1996 Lok Sabha polls when the BJD was non-existent and BJP was not a potent force, they maintained.

BJP sources said that the success of the BJD in 1998 and 1999 Lok Sabha polls was mainly because of the Vajpayee wave. In 1998 polls, the BJD had won 9 out of the 12 seats while the BJP had won 7 out of 9 seats in contested. BJD won 10 out of 12 and the BJP won all the nine seats it contested in the 1999 polls.

Naveen Patnaik and state BJP president Manmohan Samal had two rounds of talks on Saturday. However, the talks did not yield results. Patnaik was accompanied by BJD working president Nalini Kanta Mahanty and Samal was accompanied by leader of BJP Legislature Party Biswabhusan Harichandan.