After keeping away from a BJD-Left rally last week apparently under Congress pressure,NCP leader Sharad Pawar today shared the stage with ruling BJD,which is battling Congress in both the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Orissa. Pawar,who had sought a national alliance with the Congress and was unhappy over the latter rejecting it,addressed meetings in various places in the company of Chief Minister and BJD leader Naveen Patnaik. However,he chose to concentrate his attack on BJP and made no reference to the Congress,which is the main opposition party in the state. Under a seat-sharing deal with BJP,NCP will contest one Lok Sabha and seven Assembly seats in Orissa. Last week,Pawar made a last-minute decision to keep away from a joint rally organised by Patnaik in which leaders of Left parties were present. He cited technical snag in his aircraft for his absence but there were reports that the Congress had put pressure on him not to attend it. In the meetings today,Pawar accused BJP,the erstwhile partner of BJD,of trying to spread disharmony by using the government in the state. Attacking both BJP and Congress,Naveen Patnaik in his address at the rallies said that in order to keep these two parties away from power,BJD had entered into seat adjustments with like-minded parties. Even as Pawar was present at the meetings,Patnaik accused the central government of neglecting Orissa by refusing to raise coal and mineral royalties. Claiming that the popularity and influence of UPA and NDA had declined substantially,the BJD supremo said new equations are likely to emerge after the elections with regional parties playing major roles. Both UPA and NDA,he said were not sincere about the development of the state and people should vote for regional parties like BJD. He said rapid development had taken place during the last nine years of BJD rule in Orissa.
