Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections scheduled around May 2019, poll alliances between the Congress, Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India – Marxist (CPIM) and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) parties have emerged in Odisha.
This alliance will fight against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the ruling Biju Janta Dal (BJD) led by the current chief minister Naveen Patnaik.
Speaking to the media, CPI leader D Raja stated that the parties would ‘fight collectively’ in all likelihood. His party is ‘in the middle of discussions’ with the Congress, CPM and the JMM in Odisha at this stage, stated the leader. Referring to the atmosphere of ‘fear’ in the country, D Raja added that the slogan of ‘Desh bachao, Modi hatao’ had taken over the nation.
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Although alliance talks are on at this stage, no decision has been reached on the mathematics of ‘seat sharing’, said Niranjan Patnaik, president of the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC). The matter will be finalised soon, according to reports.
