BHUBANESWAR: Five days after meeting his Tamil Nadu counterpart J Jayalalitha in New Delhi, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is scheduled to meet the AIADMK leader again at Chennai on Thursday. Naveen will leave on a two-day visit to Chennai on Thursday where he will meet among others Dr MS Swaminathan of the Swaminathan Foundation. He will discuss cultivation of kalajeera rice and seaweed. He will also visit Kalakheshtra Foundation. “I am going to Chennai on the occasion of the ‘bhoomi puja’ of Odisha Bhavan there. The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister will grace the occasion,” Naveen had told reporters here on Tuesday to a question after returning from New Delhi. The function to be held in University of Madras on May 11 will be attended by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister. He will meet members of the Madras Odisha Association and also attend a function to mark the 76th Odisha day. The meeting between the two leaders assumes significance as both of them were among the non-Congress chief ministers who had opposed the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), accusing the Centre of infringing on the rights of states in a federal setup. The meeting also sparked speculation about their possible role in the ensuing presidential elections. Sources said that the two leaders may also discuss cooperation between regional political parties on different issues. Naveen, however, did not open his cards on the presidential elections. “I will have to discuss with senior leaders, MPs and MLAs of the party before deciding on the stand taken by the BJD,” he said on Tuesday. Sources maintained that Naveen may not disclose the party stand till the names of the contenders are known. With 21 MPs and 104 MLAs BJD may tilt scales in case of elections for the President’s post.
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