Bhubaneswar: The left parties in Odisha are getting closer to the ruling BJD. The two major left parties, CPI and CP, M, which have some influence over voters in the state, have started negotiating with BJD seat sharing in the forthcoming general elections.
Sources in the left party said that while preliminary round of talks are over, top level talks in the presence of parties national leaders will take place very soon.
The CPI national secretary, D Raja, Saturday said that decision about alliances would be held in September after assessing the ground strength of the various political parties in the second fortnight of August.
In Odisha, the left has two broad option either to go with the BJD or with Congress. In 1990 elections, the left allied with the Biju Patnaik led Janata Dal. However, it switched over to Congress during the 1995 elections. The Communist votes played a key role in bringing Biju Patnaik and JB Patnaik into power in 1990s. While in 1990 elections five left candidates came out victorious, in 1995 their number reduced to one.
The BJD under the leadership of Naveen Patnaik had entered into an alliance with the BJP led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. However, the green party snap ties with the saffron party in the aftermath of Kandhmal riots on the eve of 2009 general elections. Since then the BJD is almost going it alone.
The Congress in Odisha is courting JMM as the party is firming up a pre-poll alliance with the Jaharkhandi party at the national level.
