Naveen Patnaik remains non-committal on supporting NDA

 

"Keeping in view the opinion of the whole country and the state's interest, there should be no problem in providing conditional support to NDA to form government at the Centre," BJD's chief whip Pravat Tripathy had said.

 

Senior BJD leader Jay Panda, however, said the matter needs to be discussed within the party and a call on this will be taken by the party supremo.

 

"On this issue, Pravat Tripathi has suggested that conditional support can be given but this is an issue which needs discussion inside the party and ultimately the party leaders and president Naveen Patnaik will take the final call," Panda said. 

 

Meanwhile, senior BJD leader Pinaki Mishra expressed confidence that his party will get more than ten seats in Parliament and also get a comfortable majority in the Assembly elections to form the government for the fourth term.

 

"We will get 16-17 seats in the Parliament out of 21. The BJP in Odisa will get maximum one or two. The Congress will be wiped out. We will get more than 100-105 out of 147 in the Assembly and comfortably form a government for the fourth time under Naveen Patnaik's leadership," he said.

 

He, however, hoped that whichever government comes to power at the Centre, it will be "less hostile and discriminatory" towards Odisha.

 

"We are hopeful that whichever the new government is will be less hostile and discriminatory towards Odisha," he said.

 

Training his guns at the Congress, Mishra said he Congress-led UPA government at the Centre had been very "hostile" towards the state.

 

"Congress has been very hostile for the last ten years because they do not get votes in Odisha so they have decided to discriminate against its people. This is a vicious cycle because now they are reaping a bitter harvest because of this step motherly treatment and they are being kept out of power for the fourth consecutive term," he added.