Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik says won't be part of united Opposition

Days after a meeting with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, his Odisha counterpart and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik on Thursday made it clear that he will not be part of a united Opposition grouping ahead of the Lok Sabha election.

Read | Patnaik’s Delhi visit sparks speculations in Odisha political circle

He said the BJD will fight the Lok Sabha elections alone as it has "always done" and as far as he is concerned, he will not be part of any third front. His comments came after a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi here as he met him to discuss developmental issues of Odisha.

Patnaik reiterated that his meeting with Nitish was a "courtesy meeting" and they did not discuss any alliance. He said BJD will remain equidistant from both the Congress and the BJP.

Asked about the possibility of a 'third front' emerging, he said, "no, not as far as I am concerned, not now." The Odisha Chief Minister also said he has no plans to meet any other Opposition leaders during his stay in Delhi till Friday.

Nitish was the second Opposition leader after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to meet Patnaik in the past one month. After his meeting with Mamata, he had told the media that there was no serious discussion on national politics during their meeting.