There had been no discussions on the Presidential election, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik told reporters on reaching Parliament on Tuesday. Neither the Opposition nor the government had approached the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), he said.

BJD MPs welcomed him at the Parliament gate. He does not plan to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Home Minister Amit Shah. He also has not scheduled any meetings with senior Opposition leaders.

“I am here in Parliament to meet the BJD MPs, to follow up on various programmes and welfare schemes of our States,” Mr. Patnaik said.

His visit had triggered speculations that he is here to weigh in on the Presidential election.

“Nothing has come up yet, there is still a lot of time for that,” Mr. Patnaik said. When asked if he wanted a consensus candidate, Mr. Patnaik said that he had not thought about it yet.

On the question of possibility of an Opposition unity in 2024 again, Mr. Patnaik choose to duck. “We haven’t looked into that yet.”