The buzz around a possible alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the ruling Biju Janata Dal in Odisha gained traction on Tuesday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik showered rich praise on each other during the former’s visit to the state.

While Modi referred to Patnaik as a “popular CM”, the latter reciprocated by crediting the PM for “transforming India into an economic powerhouse”. This was the second instance of the public display of camaradire by the two leaders. At an earlier programme on February 3 in Sambalpur, the PM had referred to the Odisha CM as his “friend”.

Ahead of the event at Chandikhole in Jajpur district on Tuesday, where he was to inaugurate or lay the foundation stone for projects worth around Rs 20,000 crore, Modi also showered praise on the legacy of Biju Patnaik. Yesterday was the 108th birth anniversary of the late leader, the father of the incumbent chief minister.

“Biju Babu’s contributions to the development of Odisha and the nation are incomparable… I feel fortunate to offer tribute on the country’s behalf from Odisha,” the Prime Minister said.

Notably, the PM has refrained from criticising the Odisha government amid indications that backroom negotiations between the two parties may be on the cards. BJP sources told Financial Express Online that attempts are being made for an electoral arrangement between the two parties.

BJP and BJD are often seen as like-minded parties on the national level with the BJD often aligning with the NDA-led Centre on key issues in both Houses of Parliament. Experts see the arrangement between the two parties as natural since it could yield positive results for both sides.

The BJD, the stronger player in the state, may get to field a majority of candidates in the Assembly elections which are scheduled to be held alongside the Lok Sabha elections. On the other hand, the BJP may get the lion’s share in Odisha’s 21 Lok Sabha seats.

The Lok Sabha elections in 2019 saw the BJD bag 12 seats, the BJP win 8 while the Congress emerged victorious on 1 seat. The results showed big gains for the BJP which had won only 1 seat in the 2014 elections while the BJD’s tally fell from 20 to 12.

In the Assembly elections held simultaneously, the BJD bagged 112 of the 146 seats in the state while the BJP won 23 seats in 2019. The BJD’s tally, however, fell by 5 seats while the BJP gained 13 seats.