Bhubaneswar: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), which has been maintaining equidistance from BJP and Congress, has today announced that the party will participate in the meeting of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) on delimitation to be held in Chennai tomorrow.
BJP Supremo Naveen Patnaik has deputed former Minister Sanjay Das Burma and former MP Amar Patnaik to attend the meeting convened by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin.
On March 11, DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran and Tamil Nadu Industries Minister T.R.B. Raaja met Naveen Patnaik here at Naveen Niwas and requested him to participate in the Chennai meeting regarding the delimitation and electoral constituency reorganization issue.
Shri Maran and Shri Raaja, who discussed the delimitation issue with Naveen Patnaik, extended an official invitation to the BJD supremo to attend the Joint Action Committee (JAC) meeting against the Centre’s proposal to redraw constituencies based on population.
Shri Patnaik’s go-ahead for the BJD to be a part of the meeting was criticised by BJP’s Odisha unit, which accused the BJD of getting closer to the DMK.
The DMK has been reaching out to leaders of different parties, including those also within the NDA like Chandrababu Naidu, to discuss the delimitation issue.
Shri Stalin had earlier written to his counterparts in Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, West Bengal, Punjab, Odisha, inviting them to join hands with the state and be part of the JAC for an “uncompromising fight” over delimitation of Lok Sabha seats, which he termed as an “unfair exercise”.
He proposed the inaugural JAC meeting in Chennai on March 22, and urged the leaders to join forces to chart a “collective course forward”.
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