Puri, Mar 25: A day after being named as BJP candidates from Sambalpur and Puri Lok Sabha seats, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and party’s national spokesperson Sambit Patra today visited Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri.
On the auspicious occasion of Dol Purnima, Pradhan and Patra offered prayers at the 12th-century shrine and sought blessings of Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra ahead of the polls.
Speaking to the media, Pradhan said that the BJP will fight the elections on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s achievements in the last 10 years and his vision for the next 25 years.
This time, change is imminent in Odisha. Even Lord Jagannath embraces change during Nabakalebara. PM Modi's popularity has peaked in Odisha and this time BJP will form a double engine government in the state with the blessings of people, he added.
“After becoming a candidate for the Lok Sabha from Sambalpur, the holy land of Maa Samlei, it was a great privilege for me to first receive the blessings of Lord Jagannath. 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,” Pradhan wrote on his ‘X’ handle.
Similarly, Puri BJP Lok Sabha candidate Sambit Patra said, I have come to serve the people of Puri. In 2019 elections, I was defeated by a narrow margin.
He also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for nominating him as the party’s candidate for Puri Lok Sabha seat.
Stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself is contesting the election from Puri and not him, Patra called on the people of Puri to vote for PM Modi and make him win with a huge margin.
Earlier there was politics on caste, but it has stopped after Narendra Modi came to power. Only development is now PM Modi's main focus, said Patra.
