There was no concrete word on the alliance between the BJP and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) as leaders of both parties held separate parleys on Thursday but kept the media guessing about the outcome of the talks.

The ambivalence within the BJP over a possible alliance continued. There were many red faces in the state party unit as state president Manmohan Samal asserted in the afternoon that the party would contest the ensuing elections on its own and exuded confidence about forming the government.

“The party would contest alone on its strength in the 147 Assembly and 21 Lok Sabha seats. It would form the government all alone. It would fight based on Odia pride.”

This sparked off celebrations at the party office with workers bursting crackers. BJP Lok Sabha member from Bhubaneswar, Aparajita Sarangi, said: “Our party president has already made it clear that the party would fight on its own and there would be no alliance with the BJD.”

Pradeep Panigrahi, the expelled BJD MLA from Gopalpur in Ganja district, who joined the BJP recently also said, “we will win on our own.”

However, Samal made a volt face within an hour and told media persons that the views expressed were his own and did not reflect the stand of the party. He told reporters, “It’s my personal opinion. The parliamentary board and our national president will take a final call on the issue.”

He also deleted his earlier tweet about the BJP fighting it alone in Odisha.