Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on his four-day visit to New Delhi, is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday, a source said.
Without commenting on the political angle of the meeting, the source confirmed that Naveen is likely to seek the Centre’s cooperation in sanctioning more houses for Odisha under ‘Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana’ and expediting the implementation of some key railway and highway projects.
Naveen’s talks with Narendra Modi erupted political speculations because of its timing as it takes place a day after Odisha Chief Minister met his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar.
A few days ago, Naveen also met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at his residence in Bhubaneswar which had ignited political curiosity about BJD joining an anti-BJP grand alliance ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Naveen flew to Delhi May 10 and is likely to return to Odisha May 13.
The Chief Minister had last met Prime Minister Modi May 30, 2022, a month before the presidential polls in New Delhi.
Notably, the ruling BJD, which has since 2009 been officially claiming to have maintained equidistance from both BJP and Congress, has avoided joining either NDA, UPA, or a third front by skipping all meetings aimed at forging an alliance at the national level.
PNN
