Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan offers prayers at Jagannath Temple in Puri after being named Sambalpur candidate

Puri (Odisha) [India], March 25 : Union Minister and BJP Lok Sabha candidate from Sambalpur constituency, Odisha, Dharmendra Pradhan, offered prayers and sought blessings at Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri on Monday.
"An integral part of our social and cultural identity, the blessings of Lord Srijagannath have always been upon us. After becoming a candidate for the Lok Sabha from Sambalpur, the holy land of my mother Samlai, it was a great privilege for me to first take the blessings of Lord Shri Jagannath in the temple. I believe that the blessings of the Lord will give me more strength to serve the public. I will always strive to utilize my skills and abilities fully in the service of people. Jai Jagannath," the BJP leader said in a post on X.

After offering prayers at Jagannath Temple, Pradhan is scheduled to visit Sambalpur.
Expressing happiness over his candidature from Sambalpur constituency, Pradhan said, "It's my fortune that I prayed here today. People's faith in PM Modi's guarantee is increasing day by day. The wave of change is visible in Odisha. I prayed and, surely, this time a double-engine government in Odisha is inevitable."
"I express my gratitude from the bottom of my heart to the party for this candidature. I have full confidence that the people of Sambalpur and Odisha will give the right answer to the trust that the party has shown," he further said while speaking to ANI.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan as the candidate from the Sambalpur constituency in Odisha on Sunday.
In its fifth list, the BJP has announced the names of 111 candidates for the Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Rajasthan, Haryana, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Sikkim, Telangana, West Bengal, and Andhra Pradesh.
The BJP has also chosen Avimanyu Sethi to run for the Bhadrak seat and Pradeep Panigrahi for the Brahmapur seat in Odisha.
The Lok Sabha elections in Odisha, which comprise 21 constituencies, are set to take place in four phases. The voting dates have been scheduled for May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in Odisha, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) emerged as the dominant party, securing 20 out of the 21 seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a single seat.
However, the 2019 elections saw a shift in the political landscape. The BJD's seat count was reduced to 12, while the BJP made significant gains, winning 8 seats. This change marked a notable increase in the BJP's presence in the state. The Indian National Congress (INC) also managed to secure a seat in the 2019 elections.