Bhubaneswar, June 13: Talks about the emergence of a Third Front is doing the rounds, but chief minister and BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik preferred to remain non-committal about it.

“It is still early to talk about the Federal Front… However, it will be good for the country (to have another option other than the UPA and the NDA),” said Naveen, who arrived in the city today after his four-day visit to New Delhi.

When reminded of his statement that the BJD would maintain equi-distance from the Congress and the BJP and that he had only one option left (to join a Third Front), Naveen said: “Let us see how things proceed.”

The chief minister, however, refrained from commenting on his telephonic conversations with his Bihar and Bengal counterparts Nitish Kumar and Mamata Banerjee, respectively. “Nothing has been decided,” said Naveen.

A senior BJD leader said: “Naveen babu will be cautious in extending his party’s immediate support to the proposed Federal Front and limit his options. The JD(U) continues to be a BJP ally and Mamata cannot be a dependable ally. At the time of the presidential polls, he (Naveen) had announced the candidature of P.A. Sangma for the coveted post following a discussion with the Trinamul Congress chief and AIADMK supremo J. Jayalalithaa. At the last minute, Mamata had backtracked, causing embarrassment to Naveen.”

“Mamata cannot be trusted. Besides, Naveen babu is more tilted in favour of the Left Front, which is the main adversary of Mamata’s Trinamul Congress in Bengal. After we severed our poll ties with the BJP in 2009, the BJD had forged an alliance with the CPM, CPI and the Nationalist Congress Party. Between the Left parties and the Trinamul Congress, the BJD will always feel comfortable with the former,” said another BJD leader.

“More significantly, the Left has pockets of influence in Odisha and the BJD would not like to alienate from the CPM and the CPI as it would lead to splitting of non-Congress votes. We will not forget the fact that in 1995, the Janata Dal, led by Biju babu, had lost nearly a dozen Assembly seats by breaking his party’s alliance with the Left parties,” he said.

The two leaders, however, made it clear that the Odisha chief minister had an excellent rapport with his Bihar counterpart.

“Nitish Kumar should abandon the BJP like Naveen babu did on the eve of the 2009 elections and face the elections on his own. Considering his image and the good work that he is doing in the state, he may return to power, but the scenario in Odisha and Bihar are different. In Odisha, the BJP gained credibility and political base only after Naveen babu became part of the NDA in 1998 and conceded many Lok Sabha and Assembly seats to the BJP, which had limited influence in the state till then. In Bihar, it’s different. The Bharatiya Janata Party has considerable clout there,” said a BJD leader.