Not joining opposition to fight BJP in 2024: Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik after meeting PM Modi

NEW DELHI: Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik called on prime minister Narendra Modi at the latter's residence just hours after meeting Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar. Patnaik after meeting the PM dismissed any chance for a third front coalition to fight BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. His party Biju Janata Dal will contest on its own with little to no national ambition. The Odisha CM also vowed to keep an equal distance from the two political extremes.

Naveen Patnaik has been the incumbent CM of Odisha since March 2000. Many occasions passed with a roster of opposition parties reaching his home in Bhubaneshwar to discuss plans to oust the BJP from centre. However, Naveen, who enjoys massive popularity in Odisha, is reluctant to move against BJP.

Mr. Patnaik said the meeting with PM Modi was purely work oriented. The talks covered the construction of Shri Jagannath International Airport, which is being set up in Puri. Naveen Patnaik stood with the NDA government on other matters like demonetisation, “surgical” strike and the scrapping of Article 370.