Naveen Patnaik may not be part of Nitish Kumar's united opposition plan

BHUBANESWAR: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar's attempts to stitch together a united opposition may not cut ice with his Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik, with BJD insiders claiming the party is unlikely to be part of any national bloc in the run-up to the 2024 elections.
On Tuesday, Nitish met Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala and leaders of some Left parties to build an united opposition against the BJP and speculation is rife he may meet Naveen soon.
"The BJD is happy consolidating its strong position on home turf. The party will continue to remain equidistant from the BJP and the Congress or any alliance involving either of them. It would strive to have a good working relationship with the central government and whichever party forms the government at the Centre after 2024," a senior BJD leader said.
Gyana Ranjan Swain, a professor of political science at Gangadhar Meher University, said there is almost zero possibility of Naveen being part of any pre-poll alliance. "Naveen continues to be popular and politically comfortable in Odisha. Being part of any pre-poll alliance will not add value for him," Swain said.
He said those with existential crisis and threat from the BJP may bond with Nitish. "Naveen's party is no such situation. The Odisha CM will most probably wait and watch till the election is over and take a decision after that," he added.
"Naveen and Nitish were ministerial colleagues in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's cabinet. They share excellent rapport. However, Naveen may have inhibition to be part of any political grouping involving him after Nitish walked out of the NDA and veered towards the Congress. The Odisha CM, who has a good personal relationship with Modi, has no reason to be part of any formation as he doesn't need it in Odisha and doesn't have a national ambition," said another BJD leader.