While Pranab Prakash Das pursues Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan targeting Naveen Patnaik

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik came under fire on Friday from Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for choosing to run for the Kantabanji Assembly seat.

Speaking to party members in Burla, where he officially opened the party’s new headquarters, Pradhan said that the Odisha chief minister had previously battled from Bijepur and promised that he would be in charge of the region’s development.

Permit him to release a white paper detailing the advancements made in Bijepur over the last five years. Additionally, let him release another white document outlining the number of Hinjili migrants who have moved to neighboring states in search of employment before fighting from Kantabanji, he said.

Prior to this, BJD’s Lok Sabha nominee for Sambalpur, Pranab Prakash Das, said that Odisha began to flourish after the regional party’s 2009 breakup with the BJP.

After a short break, Das returned to campaigning in Sambalpur and said that the previous 25 years of the state’s progress may be split into two periods: the first spans the years 2000–2009, when the BJD–BJP coalition was in power, and the second spans the years 2009–2015.

“The voters attest to the significant differences between the two stages. Because people trusted Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and supported his choice to run alone in the elections, Odisha’s growth was revolutionary between 2009 and 2024, according to Das, who is also the BJD’s organizational secretary.

He said that the BJD government’s wide range of social programs for all societal segments were made feasible by the mandate the people gave it in support of Naveen. He remarked, “Odisha means the world to Naveen Patnaik, but it matters little to national parties.”

Das also made fun of Dharmendra Pradhan, the BJP’s candidate for Sambalpur and the Union Minister of Education. He questioned, “What is their contribution to Sambalpur and western Odisha?” without mentioning the minister, despite the area having five MPs and a prominent minister representing it at the center.

Das questioned why there aren’t any Kendriya Vidyalayas in the blocks despite the BJP having such strong support in the area, citing the renovation of Samaleswari Temple and school reform initiatives in the area.

Pranab Prakash Das, Dharmendra Pradhan
Dharmendra Pradhan is criticized by Pranab Prakash Das for the “poor condition” of NH-55.
Pradhan also took a hard stance against Das for his criticism of the unfinished NH-55, claiming that BJD is fabricating a story by ignoring its obligations to Sambalpur in the absence of any major problems.

“At least 95% of the NH-55 project has been finished, and the remaining 5% could not be finished because of the state government’s collusion and lack of collaboration. He questioned, “If the state has undergone 25 years of reform, then why are people threatening to boycott polls almost everywhere? He also made fun of Das over Sambalpur City’s poor drainage and road conditions.