The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seems to be having a tough time courting its allies, both present and erstwhile. A day after Bihar chief minister put its NDA big brother on a deadline, giving it time till this yearend to announce its prime ministerial candidate, and a “secular” one to boot, for the Janata Dal (United) to remain an ally, the BJD gave the BJP a second jolt on Monday.

The BJP, meanwhile, appeared to have got over the shock of Nitish Kumar’s stinging attack on Modi, being proposed as the BJP’s PM candidates by many in the party, and getting ready for any eventuality in the run-up to the general elections, scheduled next year.

Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik ruled out any tie-up between his party — the Biju Janata Dal — and BJP, its former ally BJP, in the next general elections. “There is no question of any alliance with BJP,” he told reporters in no uncertain terms on the sideline of a conference of chief ministers in New Delhi, the PTI reports.

Asked whether there were any chances of revival of the Third Front, Patnaik said, “I think the Third Front is a very healthy option. But it is still early days.”

The BJD, which has administered Odisha since 1999, had an alliance with the BJP till 2009. The party snapped ties with BJP just before the 2009 Odisha assembly elections. BJD has 14 members in Lok Sabha. The party was part of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government in which Patnaik held a cabinet berth.

BJP fires opening salvos against JD(U)

The Bihar unit of BJP, meanwhile, seems to be getting ready to for a split with JD(U) a day after Nitish Kumar took on his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi at the party’s plenary session in Delhi. Without naming Modi, Kumar had said the main opposition’s PM candidate should be a leader whose “secular credentials” should be “beyond doubt”. Hinting at Modi’s role in the 2002 riots in Gujarat, Kumar said, “Only one who can carry with him all the diverse sections of people can become the leader of the nation.”

About 24 hours later, key Bihar unit BJP leaders — CP Thakur, Ashwini Chaubey and Giriraj Singh, among others — met party president Rajnath Singh to discuss the issue. “The way Nitish Kumar attacked Narendra Modi is unacceptable and a serious matter,” Giriraj Singh, a member of the Nitish Kumar cabinet, was quoted saying after the meeting. He also reportedly said the BJP should not take any further insult and should be ready for a fight, if required.

Thakur, the BJP president in Bihar, had earlier said that his party is getting ready to fight in all 40 Lok Sabha seats whenever the general elections are held.