Bhubaneswar: In yet another volte-face since returning to Bhubaneswar after meeting national leaders in New Delhi on Thursday, BJP state unit president Manmohan Samal said that “he has not spoken a word on a coalition with BJD and the final decision on the matter rests with the national BJP president”.
Talking to the media at the BJP party office in Bhubaneswar in the afternoon, Samal said, “After returning from New Delhi today, I have been talking to reporters in my capacity. My words cannot be viewed as the BJP’s views.” The BJP leader accused the media of distorting his views, saying, “I have not said anything on the BJD’s entry into the NDA. It is the media that has been speculating on this issue.”
Samal added, “Any decision on the issue of coalition with BJD will be taken by the national leadership and I will accept it as a loyal member of the party. At the local level, we can only discuss the party’s election strategy in Odisha and give our suggestions to the national leadership.”
Incidentally, early this month, Samal had told the media that there is no likelihood of any coalition with the BJD in Odisha. Then, after his return to Bhubaneswar this morning, Samal said, “Everything is progressing well and we are in the process.”
A few hours later, Samal took a U-turn saying, “The BJP will fight the elections in Odisha alone and form the government.” He did another volte-face saying, “I have not said anything on the coalition with BJD and the media is fabricating stories.”
Meanwhile, neither the BJP national leadership nor the BJD top leadership has made any statement on the issue.
