Bhubaneswar: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan received a grand reception at the Bhubaneswar airport today after the NDA’s emphatic victory in the Bihar Assembly elections. Thousands of supporters, BJP workers and well-wishers gathered from across Odisha to welcome him.
Speaking to the media, Pradhan thanked the people of Bihar for giving the NDA an “unprecedented mandate”. He said the verdict was a clear endorsement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, BJP national president J.P. Nadda’s organisational strength, and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s governance model.
“Prime Minister Modi has envisioned a new dawn for the development of Eastern India. Without the rise of the East, India cannot progress,” Pradhan said, calling the Bihar victory “a major recognition of the Prime Minister’s leadership and the NDA’s performance”.
He said the BJP today represents “the trust of the people because of its welfare-driven governance”, adding that voters have “rejected the Congress’s divisive politics”.
Pradhan also congratulated Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and state BJP president Manmohan Samal for the party’s big victory in the Nuapada by-election, where BJP candidate Jai Dholakia won by a large margin.
The celebratory welcome at the airport featured traditional Odia dance and music. Artists dressed in ethnic attire greeted the Union Minister with bells, conch shells, mridangam beats, and folk performances. The airport premises were filled with chants, flower garlands, and colourful decorations.
After the reception, Pradhan travelled directly to Puri to offer prayers at the Shree Jagannath Temple and seek the blessings of Mahaprabhu.
