Bhubaneswar, Mar 4: External Affairs Minister and senior BJP leader Dr S Jaishankar, who reached Bhubaneswar on a two-day Odisha visit today, said Odisha is a very significant State for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"We all appreciate the history, culture, and talent of Odisha. In the last 10 years, Rs 18 lakh crore Central allocation was provided to Odisha. People of Odisha will vote to strengthen the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and for a BJP Govt in Odisha for the first time," said Jaishankar

Jaishankar said the iconic Konark Sun Temple wheel took centre stage at the G20 Summit in Delhi. This shows how much respect the Prime Minister has for the State of Odisha and its culture, pointed out he.

"Odisha is a State which has an enormous resource base. It has a tremendous culture which is widely admired across the world. By branding the Konark wheel at the G20 summit, we have paved the way for international interest to come to Odisha. We hope there will be many more opportunities to boost the tourism industry here," added Jaishankar.

He said, as a Foreign Minister, he had an opportunity to appreciate the talent and skills of citizens of Odisha abroad. This visit of mine is to add my voice to those of my colleagues that the people of Odisha make the right choice when they go to vote. They will vote to strengthen the hands of PM Modi helping us to pass the 400-mark. The people of Odisha will repose their trust in PM Modi this time, he said.

Assembly and Lok Sabha elections will be held simultaneously in Odisha in four phases, starting from Phase one on May 13, Phase two on May 20, Phase three on May 25 and the final Phase on June 1.

The results will be announced on June 4.

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