Bhubaneswar: The visit of former Tripura chief minister and CPM politburo member Manik Sarkar to Odisha has triggered speculations about a possible electoral tie-up between the Left party and the BJD.
The CPM is a long-time advocate of a non-BJP, non-Congress secular alliance - Third Front - and Sarkar's visit is being seen as a push in that direction ahead of 2019's general election. Sarkar will arrive here late in the evening and return to Agartala on Monday morning after attending several programmes.
Sources said BJD MLA and former minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak invited Sarkar to attend an event and release a book. Though the event is non-political, political observers feel that Sarkar might play a key role in cementing a tie-up between the BJD and other secular parties.
The CPM had formed an alliance with the BJD in 2009 in three Assembly seats after Naveen Patnaik snapped the party's decade-old tie-up with the BJP. The BJD's move to cosy up to the CPM is being seen as an attempt to strengthen its grip in the state amid aggressive campaign against the government by the BJP, which has launched its Mission 120 for next year's Assembly polls.
The leaders of both the parties, however, played down any talk of an alliance.
Senior CPM leader Janardan Pati said: "We don't see any kind of alliance with the BJD at this moment. Let us wait."
BJD leaders also said it was too early to talk about the Third Front. "As Naveen enjoys good rapport with all national leaders and is known for his clean image and good administration across the country, leaders coming to Odisha pay a courtesy call to him. Even Mamata Banerjee, Nitish Kumar and other leaders had him Naveen during their visits to the state last year," said a senior BJD leader.
"No one should jump to any conclusion about Naveen embracing a third front."
However, because of both the leaders' busy schedules, it has not been decided if Naveen and Sarkar will meet.
Sarkar, who has been accorded the status of state guest, will deliver a lecture at RK Nayak Memorial Foundation on Sunday morning. He will then leave for Puri to attend the national conference of the School Teachers' Federation of India.
