BJP's bid to form anti-BJD & anti-Cong front fades

Even after two rounds of discussions between the BJP's central leaders including Arun Jaitley with leaders of small parties in Odisha, there seems to be no possibility of an alliance in the state ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Jaitley, during his visit earlier this week, had met Aama Odisha leader Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, Utkal Bharat president Kharvel Swain and Samata Kranti Dal leader Braja Kishore Tripathy to set up an anti-BJD and anti-Congress front to ensure that there was no division of votes in the state.
Samata Kranti Dal president Braja Kishore Tripathy today announced that his party would have no alliance with any party and would field candidates in about half a dozen of Lok Sabha seats and about 50 Assembly seats in the state.

The party would support non-BJD candidates in the rest of the seats, Tripathy said.
Of the two remaining small parties, sources said the BJP leadership was not inclined to give more than 10 assembly seats each to the Aama Odisha and Utkal Bharat.
This apart, there was an effort to bring back Utkal Bharat leader and former MP Kharvel Swain to the BJP fold. Swain was elected to Lok Sabha from Balasore seat on BJP ticket.

"Therefore, it will be better to field Swain from Balasore Parliamentary Constituency as a BJP candfidate instead of forging any alliance with his Utkal Bharat," a senior BJP leader said.

The BJP's central leadership did not speak to Odisha Janmorcha leader Pyarimohan Mohapatra due to stiff opposition from the party's state leadership.
"At no point of time, will we have any alliance or seat adjustment with OJM," BJP's state president K V Singhdeo told reporters during a visit to Parlakhemundi yesterday.
Under the changed scenario, there seemed to be no possibility of an anti-BJD and anti-Congress front in the state, political observers said.