Sambalpur, Feb 3: The stage is all set here for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public rally to be held here at Remed Square on Saturday afternoon. Thousands of party workers and leaders have started arriving here to listen to the PM’s address as he will formally kick-start the Bharatiya Janata party’s (BJP) poll campaign here.

The public rally, christened as Modi Guarantee Samavesh, is planned to be attended by over one lakh people drawn from across western odisha districts like Sonepur, Bolangir, Boudh, Kalahandi, Sundergarh, Bargarh, Nuapara, Deogarh, Jharsuguda and Kandhamal.

Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan BJP’s state president Manmohan Samal and almost all the top leaders of the state will share dais with Modi apparently to send out a message about the party's poll preparation.

Also Read: February 3 Will Mark A Milestone In Odisha's Developmental Journey: Dharmendra Pradhan

Though there has not been any formal announcement as to who will contest from Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat, sources in the party said Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan is most likely to try his luck from the seat. He has been nourishing the parliamentary constituency for over a year now.

The BJP has a strong presence in Western Odisha. Of the eight Lok Sabha Seats in the region, the party won five such as Kalahandi, Bolangir, Sundergarh, Sambalpur and Bargarh in the 2019 polls. Besides, it won eight of the 35 assembly constituencies in the region.

Out of power in the state since 2009, the BJP has been making desperate efforts to dislodge the Naveen Patnaik government from power. However, it has not been able to put up a brave fight against the ruling dispensation. In 2019, it won only 23 of the 177 assembly seats and managed to secure eight of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

The BJP rank and file in Odisha hope Prime Minister Modi will give them a clear-cut message with regard to the party’s vision for the state.

“We are quite optimistic about PM Modi’s visit to Western Odisha. The BJP leaders and workers believe his leadership and guidance will help us win Assembly and Lok Sabha polls in the state. We don’t have any doubt that we are going to form the government here in Odisha and retain power at the Centre for the third consecutive term,” said BJP spokesperson Manoj Mohapatra.

Read More: Odisha News

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