Dharmendra Pradhan Seeks To Return To Lok Sabha From Home State Odisha

"I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to represent Sambalkar in Lok Sabha. Modiji's guarantee, track record of 10 years and due to the hard work of activist Mankar, we have won the vote and trust of the citizens of Sambalpur and all over the country," Pradhan wrote in a post on X in Odia.

Popularly known as the "Ujjwala" man, Pradhan is credited with being the longest serving Union minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Currently the Union Education and Skill Development Minister, Pradhan had first made his Lok Sabha debut in 2004 from Deogarh in Odisha. While he lost the 2009 assembly elections, he went on to become the BJP national secretary and then the general secretary.

In 2012, he got elected to Rajya Sabha from Bihar. And when Narendra Modi swept to power in 2014 general elections, Pradhan was made Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas with independent charge.

In a cabinet reshuffle in 2017, he was elevated to the cabinet rank for the same ministry, with an additional charge of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. He again was made a cabinet minister in Modi government 2.0.

In 2021, he was made the Union Minister for Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and tasked with the implementation of the new National Education Policy (NEP).

The BJP on Sunday announced the names of its candidates for 18 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha, with the party deciding to field Pradhan from Sambalpur seat.

Pradhan, who hails from Talcher, was born on June 26, 1969 in Odisha. He is the son of Debendra Pradhan who was also a minister of state in the Vajpayee government between 1999 and 2004.

Pradhan began his political career in 1983 as an ABVP activist and was elected as its secretary. He also worked as an election in-charge in Bihar and as an in-charge of party affairs in Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Odisha and Jharkhand.

He studied at Talcher Autonomous College and Utkal University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. He also holds a Master of Arts degree in political science from Sambalpur University. He currently is a Rajya Sabha MP from Madhya Pradesh, and his term ends in April.

The BJP held talks on pre-poll alliance in the past weeks with the ruling BJD in Odisha. However, the Odisha unit of BJP announced on Friday that the party will go solo in the Lok Sabha and assembly elections in the state.

The BJD and the BJP were in alliance for around 11 years between 1998 and 2009 and fought three Lok Sabha and two assembly elections together.