In the first blow to the opposition’s ongoing attempts at forging a pan-India anti-BJP alliance, Odisha chief minister and Biju Janata Dal chief Naveen Patnaik on Thursday said his party would go it alone in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Patnaik made the remarks after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi.

"There is no possibility of a Third front as far as I am concerned," ANI quoted the Odisha CM as saying.

Talking about his meeting with PM Modi, Patnaik said “BJD will fight the 2024 elections on its own. That has always been the policy of BJD. My discussions were mainly related to Odisha’s demands and the international airport coming up in Puri. As the traffic in Bhubaneswar international airport is rising, we talked about the proposed Puri airport.”

"PM said he will definitely help in every way possible," Patnaik said.

Patnaik's clarification comes amid speculation that the BJD president may meet some Opposition leaders on forming a third front ahead of the 2024 election.

Patnaik has been at the helm in Odisha since 2000 and his BJD is among some regional parties that have maintained a neutral stand on the issues involving clashes between the ruling BJP and Opposition. At times, it has supported the BJP in Parliament as well. 

Talk of a 'third front' has grown these past weeks with Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav on a round of high-profile visits.

Patnaik met Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday. In his meeting with Kumar on Tuesday, he said, "It was a courtesy call, he paid a visit. It went off well."

Mulling a united fight against BJP, Nitish met NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai on Thursday.

He had yesterday met Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren to advance an anti-BJP alliance having earlier met Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, and others.

Image source: PTI