No infighting with BJD, party not weak: Naveen

Bhubaneswar: BJD president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday said there is no infighting in the party.

“I do not feel any infighting in the party. Where is infighting?” Patnaik told reporters after his return from his five-day visit to the national capital.

When asked whether infighting in the regional outfit has been making the party weak, he said, “Who says the party is going weak? I don’t think its going weak at all? We are the largest party in the state. We have won four terms in a row.”

Reacting to the controversial article written by BJD MP Bhartruhari Mahtab in an Odia newspaper, the BJD president said he has not gone through the article yet.

On his visit to the residence of former prime minister A B Vajpayee during his stay in Delhi, Patnaik said “I heard Mr Vajpayee was not feeling well. So I paid a courtesy visit.” On claims made by a section of BJP leaders in Odisha that he wanted an alliance with the saffron party ahead of the 2019 general elections, the Chief Minister said “That is not correct.”

He also said that he has not discussed, during his New Delhi visit, with any political party leaders to nominate a united opposition candidate for the forthcoming presidential election.

“No plans yet and there were no discussions in Delhi as far as I am concerned,” he clarified.