Bhubaneswar, Sept. 19: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today dismissed whatever hopes the Congress might have had of wooing him by stating bluntly that there was “no question” of his party supporting the UPA.

“With the withdrawal of the Trinamul Congress from the Union government, the central government finds itself in an unstable and weak position. But there is no question of the BJD supporting the UPA government,” Naveen said before leaving for Delhi on a five-day visit. Naveen’s party has 14 MPs in the Lok Sabha.

The chief minister, who has been maintaining a policy of equidistance from the Congress and the BJP, said that regional parties in the country had gone from strength to strength. “Over the years, regional parties have become stronger. BJD will do well with the blessings of the people whether there is an early election or not,” said Naveen, whose party was part of the NDA till 2009.

Significantly, the chief minister’s statement came ahead of tomorrow’s Bharat Bandh called by non-Congress parties to protest against the steep hike in the prices of petroleum products, capping of LPG cylinders and the decision to throw open the retail sector to FDI.

The BJD is not taking part in the strike on the plea that it would interfere with the celebration of Nuakhai, the most famous festival of western Odisha. This, though, is seen as more of a tactical move by the ruling party, which does not want to be seen as associating itself with a programme chiefly sponsored by the BJP-led NDA.

Naveen has also postponed a decision on whether he would allow foreign retail giants entry into his state or not. The BJD will, however, organise protest rallies against the Centre’s decision to disinvest in the public sector National Aluminium Company Limited on September 24, 26 and 28.

Union minister of state for chemicals and fertilisers Srikant Jena asserted there was no need for the Congress to turn to the BJD for support as there was no imminent threat to the UPA government.

“Nothing disastrous is going to happen. A coalition government has its own compulsions but there is no immediate threat to the UPA. No one wants a mid-term poll,” he said. Jena scoffed at the idea of the UPA turning to the BJD for help citing the existing bitterness between Odisha’s ruling party and the Congress. He also criticised the BJD for lacking a clear-cut political line. “In the past, it had a tie up with the BJP and now it claims to be maintaining equidistance from both Congress and the BJP. But they still appear to be inclined towards the BJP,” he said.

The Union minister also ruled out the possibility of mid-term polls.

However, senior BJD MP Arjun Sethi said the party was always ready to face elections. “We are ready for any eventuality,” he said.