NCP withdraws support to BJD in Orissa

BHUBANESWAR - The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar Wednesday decided to withdraw its unconditional support to Orissa’s ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the party’s state unit said.

The decision was taken in the state-level executive meeting here after a marathon discussion on various issues, Utkal Keshari Parida, NCP Orissa unit president, told IANS.

The alliance was forged to protect the interest of the people. We are disappointed that the BJD is not consulting us in any matter. They are not even responding to our letters, Parida said.

Parida said his party is unhappy because the state government has failed to tackle various urgent issues, including the problems of the farmers. That is why we decided to end our unconditional support to the BJD and the state government, he stressed.

We will formally inform the BJD leadership about this decision soon, he said.

The BJD forged alliance with the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), Communist Party of India (CPI) and the NCP in the run-up to the assembly and Lok Sabha elections last year after snapping its 11-year-old alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The latest development does not pose any threat to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s government because the BJD has 103 members - a massive majority in the 147-member assembly - and the NCP has only four.