Will keep open mind: Jay Panda on BJD joining NDA
May 22, 2019 13:24
The Bharatiya Janaat Party will keep an open mind if other parties want to join their coalition seeing the national mood, said party's vice president Baijayant Jay Panda who recently left the Biju Janata Dal to join the BJP.
"My Party president Amit Shah has said that we are confident of getting more than 300 seats. We will form the government with NDA allies. If other parties seeing the national mood want to also join in, I think, the BJP will keep an open mind," BJP's Baijayant Jay Panda told ANI on being asked if the BJD will support the NDA.
"All exit polls are showing that the BJP has dramatically grown in Odisha. The BJP will form the government in Odisha and get a majority in Lok Sabha. In Odisha, people have seen the Modi government has been taking strong political decisions, which were not easy, whether on the economic or security front. Naveen Patnaik has been chief minister for 19 years, but last five years witnessed a dramatic departure of his party's image and reputation due to rising crimes and corruption in the state," he added.
Replying to a question on who will be the chief minister if the BJP gets a majority in Odisha, Panda said, "I joined the BJP after soul searching. I am happy to carry out whatever responsibility the party gives me. Whether it is my friend Devendra Pradhan, KV Singh Deo or Pratap Sarangi, the good thing is the BJP has a lot of talent, whosoever takes whichever responsibility, we are going to cooperate with each other."
He further cornered Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik saying that he had attacked him personally in several interviews.
"The BJD has long considered that Kendrapara is its seat. I represented the seat as a BJD member. People have seen how I was eliminated and moved away from the BJD. For whatsoever reason, it little unusual that Patnaik seemed to focus extra on Kendrapara and attacked me personally in many interviews. But then, I had to give a strong response to allegations levelled against me. He spent two days in Kendrapara but he neglected other seats where campaigning was underway," he remarked. -- ANI
TOP STORIES
© 2024 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances