Naveen Patnaik rejects alliance with Congress

"There is no question at all of any alliance with the Congress. The Congress has always neglected the people of Odisha," Patnaik told reporters after addressing a public meeting in Balasore district.

However, some leaders of the ruling Biju Janata Dal appeared willing to reconsider the stand. 

"Our position is that we may reconsider our stand of equidistance from both the Congress and BJP. Politics is dynamic and nobody is untouchable," BJD MP Bhartruhari Mahatab had said.

Reports of alliance with the Congress surfaced after the BJD's parliamentary party leader in the Lok Sabha, Mahatab, indicated BJD was willing to join a grand alliance against the BJP.