No BJD-NDA alliance? Poll in-charge says BJP ready to contest 21 Lok Sabha seats :'There is no such thing as...'

Amid speculations over the alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Odisha, state BJP election in-charge Vijaypal Singh Tomar said the BJP is ready to contest 21 Lok Sabha seats and 147 assembly seats in the state. He refuted reports of the two parties having discussions over the seat-sharing pact. 

“There has been. We only talk about the number of seats we'll be contesting, what is our situation in the state, and other political aspects," Vijaypal Singh Tomar said.

He said there is “no such thing as an alliance in our knowledge" and exuded confidence that the “BJP will be forming the government". He said, "… and more than 16 Lok Sabha candidates will definitely win in Odisha...," Tomar said.

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Sources told news agency PTI on Friday that the BJP-BJD alliance in Odisha hit a hurdle after there was a stalemate over the seat-sharing pact. “The BJD sought to contest from over 100 seats in the 147-member Odisha Assembly… it is not acceptable to the BJP," sources said.

The BJP reportedly sought 14 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha which has been rejected by the BJD.

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“The BJD is demanding about 75 percent of the assembly seats which is not accepted by us," a BJP leader was quoted by PTI as saying. He added that such a situation would adversely affect the prospect of the BJP in the state.

In the 2019 general elections, the BJD had won 12 seats while the BJP won eight.

(With inputs from PTI)