PM may visit Odisha on Feb 3

Bhubaneswar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Odisha for a day in February, State BJP president Manmohan Samal said on Thursday. Speaking to reporters, Samal said the Prime Minister’s visit has been finalised and he will come here on February 3.

‘’Apart from his official programmes, Prime Minister Modi will address a BJP rally in Sambalpur,’’ he said.

During the likely visit, the Prime Minister will inaugurate the permanent campus of IIM-Sambalpur, built over 200 acres in Basantapur at a cost of Rs 400 crore.

Sambalpur is the main city in Odisha’s western region, which is considered a bastion of the BJP. Of the eight BJP MPs from Odisha, five were elected from this region.

Speculations are rife that Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, a Rajya Sabha member, may contest the Lok Sabha polls from the Sambalpur seat this time. The constituency is at present represented by BJP’s Nitesh Gang Deb.