Chief Minister Banerjee's visit is being billed as a private visit to Odisha.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will meet her Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik on March 23 in Bhubaneswar during a two-day visit to the neighbouring state.
Chief Minister Banerjee, a devotee of Lord Jagannath, will also offer prayers at the Jagannath Temple in Puri a day earlier on March 22. Priests from the temple had performed a yagna at her home ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections, which she won in 2021.
However, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) sources have indicated that they are not discussing the possibility of the BJD being a part of any alliance
Chief Minister Banerjee's visit is being billed as a private visit to Odisha. She is likely to travel to the national capital later, signalling movement in the Opposition camp before the 2024 general elections to formulate a common strategy.
Parties like the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD, Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party have stated that they maintain a non-Congress, non-BJP front.
Several regional parties are seeking common ground before the 2024 general elections. These parties also believe that they don't want Congress, especially Rahul Gandhi, leading the Opposition group.