Ama Odisha, Utkal Bharat form alliance

Two fringe parties, Ama Odisha and Utkal Bharat, which were in talks with BJP for formation of a broad non-Congress and non-BJD alliance in the state, have decided to go to polls under single leadership and single symbol, after the failure of tie-up talks with the saffron party. Kharavel Swain, the president of Utkal Bharat, today told media persons that his party would contest the election under the leadership of Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, the expelled Congress leader who has recently converted his socio-cultural organisation Ama Odisha into a political outfit.

Both the parties would fight the election under a single symbol i.e. earthen pot, allotted to Ama Odisha by the Election Commission. The alliance would welcome all other parties to become part of the alternative front to ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Congress, Swain said. The two parties would contest in all the 147 assembly seats and 21 Lok Sabha seats. The leaders of both the parties said, the candidates' list of the combine would be released soon.