BJP Odisha Chief Says Party Will Go Solo, Then Walks Back Remark

Hours after claiming that the BJP will fight the upcoming elections for Lok Sabha and Odisha alone, Odisha BJP President Manmohan Samal on Thursday said that the party’s Parliamentary Party’s decision in this regard is final. Mr Samal’s earlier assertion had come amid talks of a pre-poll alliance between the BJD and the BJP. On his arrival from the national capital earlier in the day after meeting Union Minister Amit Shah, Mr Samal said, “BJP will form the government in the state alone with the blessings and cooperation of people.”