BJD pulls out of NDA ahead of trust vote on March 11

Bhubaneswar, Mar 9 (PTI) Two days after snapping ties
with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Orissa's ruling Biju Janata
Dal (BJD) Monday pulled out of NDA ahead of Wednesday's
confidence vote in the assembly terming the right-wing party's
withdrawal of support to Naveen Patnaik government as an "act
of betrayal".

"BJD is no more with NDA," party's Secretary General
Damodar Rout said alleging BJP had "betrayed the trust of the

BJD's walking out of National Democratic Alliance (NDA)
before the trust vote Patnaik has been asked seek by Governor
M C Bhandare on the floor of the 147--member assembly came as
support from JMM (four MLAs), CPI (1), CPI-M (1) and NCP (2),
besides seven independents would be crucial to save the
government.

The BJD has 61 members in the House and needs the
support of 13 Members of Legislative Assembly to reach the
majority mark of 74. BJP has 30 members and main opposition
Congress 38.

Rout said the people of Orissa had voted for Naveen
Patnaik to make him the chief minister but BJP demanded his
resignation and imposition of President's Rule in the state
after withdrawing support to the governmet. "It is an act of
betrayal.

"We don't want to leave any doubt in the minds of the
people. Now, it is clear that we have no ties with NDA," a
senior BJD leader said.

Besides BJD's own strength, the list of 76 MLAs submitted
by Patnaik during his meeting with the Governor yesterday
included the names of four JMM members, one each from
Communist Party of India (CPI) and CPI(M) and two from
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

This apart, BJD also gained support of seven of the eight
independent members.

One more independent member Sambhunath Naik today
announced his decision to abstain from voting during the trust
vote.

The chief minister had on March 7 announced BJD's ending
11-year-old association with BJP after seat-sharing talks
between the two parties for coming Lok Sabha and assembly
polls failed.

Meanwhile, Left parties have invited Patnaik to
join the Third Front to install a non-Congress and non-BJP
government at the Centre.

Senior CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, who had met
Patnaik in Bhubaneshwar yesterday to rope in BJD and swell the
Third Front's kitty of friends, told mediapersons in Delhi
today that seat-sharing talks with the state's ruling party
has begun and would resume after the trust vote on March 11.

It was only after this, the pre-poll alliance would be
firmed up, he said. PTI AAM
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