BJP to go it alone in coming elections: Dharmendra Pradhan

Any tie-up with BJD ruled out

BERHAMPUR: The Bharatiya Janata Party would never think of alliance with the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in the State, said party national general secretary Dharmendra Pradhan.

Speaking to newsmen during his visit to the city on Sunday to deliver a talk on ‘good governance’, which was organised by ‘Brahmapur Intellectual Forum’, Mr. Pradhan said the BJP started preparations to fight it alone in the coming Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in the State. He claimed that strength of the BJP was on the rise in the State.

It may be noted that till the polls in 2009, the BJP and the BJD were partners in the State. Mr. Pradhan said the new State president of the party, who would replace Juel Oram, would surely be a person who could lead the party in the elections scheduled to be held in 2014. But he refused to name anyone for the post. It may be noted that as per reports inner tussle continued in the State BJP regarding choice of next State president of the party.

 He claimed that there was no inner tussle in the party. He avoided questions related to prospective candidates for the post of next State president of the BJP, saying it was internal matter of the party not to be discussed in public. When asked whether the next State president would be elected or selected, Mr. Pradhan said he would be a man accepted by all. “Ours is a cadre-based party so every decision is a collective decision,” he said.

Mr. Pradhan was in charge of the Karnataka BJP. So, when asked about the division of the party, including its legislative party in Karnataka, he said Karnataka incident was an isolated happening and it would have little effect on the rising clout of the BJP in national politics. “The incidents in Karnataka surely did not have any impact on Gujarat elections,” he added. Source: The Hindu