BHUBANESWAR: Amid buzz in political circles that the coalition talk between BJP and BJD could be in the final stages, the saffron party's Odisha leadership was summoned to Delhi by the party's central hierarchy on Sunday.
Talks are doing the rounds that state BJP functionaries may be asked by the top leadership to refrain from making misleading comments on the alliance after party's Odisha chief Manmohan Samal strongly ruled out a coalition with BJD upon his return from Delhi on Friday.
Samal along with general secretary (organisation) Manas Mohanty, state election in-charge Vijaypal Singh Tomar, and co-in-charge Lata Usendi reached the national capital in the evening, their second visit to Delhi in the last four days as part of the strategy to fine-tune the alliance.
On the fresh summon to Delhi, Samal said the central leadership wants to discuss the ground situation for the upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly elections in state. "I am not aware of the agenda of the fresh meeting though it will surely revolve around our preparedness," Samal said before leaving for Delhi. Asked about the alliance, Samal said, "I do not want to comment on the alliance matter."
Samal's response comes a day after the emergence of a short video, featuring chief minister Naveen Patnaik and his aide V K Pandian, in which the BJD supremo is heard saying "rumours and lies" are bad in politics.
Though Naveen did not name anyone in the video, BJD sources said his message could have been a veiled jibe at Samal's earlier comment on alliance talks.
A BJD source, meanwhile, said the coalition discussion has ended on a positive note. "A clarity on it, including seat-sharing arrangements, may emerge before Thursday," the source said.
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