Naveen Patnaik ‘Non-Committal’ As BJD Plays Safe On ‘One Nation, One Election’ Plan

Bhubaneswar: Taking a non-committal approach on ‘one nation, one poll’ proposal of the Centre, BJD president and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Naveen Patnaik said his party will undertake a detailed study on simultaneous elections before taking a stand on it.

“Let the details come forth, we will study and take a stand,” he said during an interaction at the 12th edition of the Odisha Literary Festival organised by the New Indian Express on Saturday.

Replying to a question on the new BJP government in the state, the former CM said, “All can see how the law and order situation in Odisha has declined with the incident of the governor’s son at Puri. Recently, an Army major and his fiancee were harassed violently at a major police station in the capital city. This is not a good record.”

Naveen, however, refrained from rating the maiden BJP government in the state. “It is too early to start counting. Elections to several states will be held in the near future. Let us wait for the results,” he said.

He added that he would continue to serve the people of Odisha in his new role as the LoP.

BJD TWEAKS ITS STAND

The BJD, which once supported ‘One Nation One Election, tweaked its stand on the issue after the Union Cabinet passed the proposal on September 18. “No one knows what happens if there is a hung assembly or there is an early dissolution of the assembly or Parliament… What happens if tomorrow there is a constitutional crisis… What happens if there is a demand for an early dissolution that comes in through a vote of no confidence?” BJD MP told ANI while suggesting the Centre not to rush with the proposal and instead let it go through legislative scrutiny.

Notably, Odisha has been voting for simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections since 2004.