Sambalpur, May 2: Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominee for the Sambalpur Lok Sabha constituency, Dharmendra Pradhan, officially submitted his nomination papers on Thursday.

Pradhan completed the filing process in the presence of several BJP leaders, submitting his papers to the Sambalpur Collector and Returning Officer.

Prior to this formal procedure, Pradhan visited the Samaleswari Temple to seek blessings from the presiding deity. He then embarked on a large rally alongside BJP's MLA candidates for Sambalpur, Jaynarayan Mishra, and Rengali, Nauri Nayak, before submitting his nomination papers.

Despite the scorching weather, the rally attracted thousands of local residents. Pradhan is slated to contest against Biju Janata Dal's (BJD) candidate Pranab Prakash Das and Congress's nominee Nagendra Pradhan for the Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat.

Odisha is gearing up for simultaneous Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, scheduled across four phases from May 13 to June 1, with results expected on June 4.

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