Sambalpur: Dharmendra Pradhan, who will be contesting direct election after 15 years and also the first time after becoming a Union Minister in 2014, has embarked on a temple-hopping spree in Odisha.
After Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri and Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar, the BJP Lok Sabha candidate from Sambalpur constituency offered prayers at Samaleswari Temple here on Tuesday morning. He arrived in the city last night after a visit to Maa Hingula temple in Talcher.
Though Dharmendra hails from the town of Talcher in Angul, the BJP nominated him from Sambalpur, the city in western Odisha which is considered the bastion of the saffron party.
Speaking to media, the Union Minister said that he considers himself fortunate to have been nominated from Sambalpur, which is one of the prominent religious places in the country and also an economic and cultural centre and that of farmers’ aspirations. “I will be making squirrel’s efforts in the Maha Abhiyan started under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. With the blessings of Mahapraphu and Maa Samaleswari, we will build the bridge towards fulfilling the aspirations of poor, elderly, youth and women of the country,” he said.
He had earlier said that a wave of change is clearly visible in Odisha and it will make strides in various areas of development and progress with a double-engine government.
Also Read: Wave Of Change Clearly Visible In Odisha, Says BJP’s Dharmendra Pradhan
Dharmendra was elected to the Odisha Assembly in 2000 and to the Lok Sabha from Deogarh Parliamentary seat in 2004, when the BJP was in alliance with BJD. However, he lost the Assembly elections in 2009 after the BJP-BJD alliance broke. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2012 and for a second term in 2018.
