Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan may contest from the Sambalpur seat in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. On Monday, Pradhan dropped a hint suggesting that he may contest the election from the Sambalpur seat.
The minister attended a Cricket Tournament held at Bagedia under Chhendipada in Angul district as the chief guest.
While addressing the gathering, he said he had submitted his application to his party expressing his desire to contest from this side.
Bagedia comes under the Chhendipada Assembly constituency and at the same time, it falls under the Sambalpur Lok Sabha constituency.
At a time when there have been speculations that he may contest from either Sambalpur or the Dhenkanal Lok Sabha seat, his recent hint ‘from this side’ is being viewed as a preference for the Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat.
Also Read: BJP, BJD engage in war of words over VK Pandian’s target at Dharmendra Pradhan
However, no comments from the Union Minister have been received as yet.
When asked, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, Balabhadra Majhi said, “Our party’s top leaders decide who will contest from which seat. You can’t say, one will get a ticket as per their wish. It does not mean that Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan will have benefits if contests from the Sambalpur seat and won’t have them if he contests from somewhere else. BJP leaders starting from the grassroots level to Prime Minister Narendra Modi have the blessings.”