TNI BUREAU: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan received an enthusiastic welcome at the Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar on Friday, a day after the NDA returned to power in Bihar.
Pradhan, who served as the BJP’s election in-charge for the Bihar Assembly polls, arrived in Odisha for a two-day organisational visit.
A large gathering of BJP workers and supporters greeted him at the airport, celebrating the NDA’s win and his role in the campaign.
The NDA secured another term in Bihar with Nitish Kumar taking oath as Chief Minister on Thursday, along with two Deputy Chief Ministers and 26 ministers.
Speaking in Bhubaneswar, Pradhan said the mandate reflected the people’s continued trust in the NDA’s governance and called the result a strong endorsement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.
He also criticised the Congress, stating that voters had rejected what he described as divisive politics. Referring to Odisha, he congratulated Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, state BJP president Manmohan Samal, and party workers for BJP candidate Jay Dholakia’s recent bypoll victory.
During his visit, Pradhan travelled to Puri to offer prayers at the Shree Jagannath Temple. He also made a stop at Cuttack, where he visited Ma Katak Chandi, the presiding deity of the city, and had bada at Hadi Bandhu Bhai’s popular shop in Shilharapur.
Pradhan later took part in the 126th birth anniversary celebration of ‘Utkala Kesari’ Dr. Harekrushna Mahatab.
Paying tribute, he described Dr. Mahatab as a key architect of modern Odisha and a visionary who worked for the advancement of Odia interests. Pradhan highlighted Dr. Mahatab’s role in the political integration of Odisha after independence, when he worked closely with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel to merge 26 princely states into the province.
He also noted Dr. Mahatab’s contributions to journalism, including the founding of the newspaper Prajatantra, as well as works such as Mina Bazar and Gaon Majlis. Pradhan said Dr. Mahatab stood alongside leaders like Utkalamani Gopabandhu Das, Fakir Mohan Senapati, Radhanath Ray and Madhusudan Das in promoting Odia language consciousness.
Pradhan added that the country is currently observing the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Patel and marking 150 years of the patriotic song Vande Mataram, which played an important role in India’s freedom struggle. He said there is a need to elevate the concluding events of Dr. Mahatab’s 125th birth anniversary to the national level.
As part of his two-day visit, Pradhan will attend several organisational meetings across Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. Party sources said the focus will be on strengthening the BJP’s structure in Odisha and preparing for upcoming political challenges.
