Times Now
New Delhi, May 15: The Congress on Friday evolved a passive support formula with Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president and Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik after two Congress leaders cracked the deal with Patnaik.
The BJD chief has also assured Congress that he will abstain in the confidence vote. Congress president Sonia Gandhi called Patnaik to reaffirm the deal.
Earlier, after severing his 11-year-old ties with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Patnaik has been repeatedly saying that his party would not support either a Congress or a BJP-led government at the Centre while at the same time not confirming his party's inclusion in the Third Front.