JP Nadda kickstarts two-day visit to Odisha at Jagannatha Temple in Puri

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president JP Nadda kickstarted his two-day visit to Odisha's Puri by offering prayers at Shree Jagannatha Temple on Friday morning.

He was accompanied by Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Nadda arrived in Puri late Thursday evening where he was welcomed by the party workers.

This is Nadda's first visit to the state after taking over the party's topmost post in 2019.

The BJP chief has programmes lined up later in the day, which includes his visits to Bhadrak and Cuttack.

He will pay homage to late party leader Bishnu Sethi and meet his family at around 10.10 am today at Tihidi Kalipadia.

Sethi passed away at 61 on September 19 this year due to kidney failure at AIIMS hospital in Bhubaneswar.

Later, Nadda will participate in an event at Swami Vivekanand National Institute of Rehabilitation Training and Research (SVNIRTAR) in Cuttack.

Nadda is visiting various states of the country and holding meetings with the party's state units and reviewing the poll preparedness of the BJP for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Before his visit to the state, BJP in-charge Sunil Bansal took stock of the preparedness in Bhubaneswar. He had held meetings with the party workers and assigned tasks. He had also taken part in the training camp on September 13 and 15.

According to the sources, Nadda will address nearly 30,000 workers during his visit to the state. The party believes that an address by the national president would fill them with new energy for the upcoming polls.

"This is the reason why Nadda is visiting every state," said the sources.

Besides this, Nadda will meet the MPs, MLAs, office bearers, and district presidents at the Orissa party Office and take feedback on the delivery of the central government's schemes.

Nadda will also meet the prominent people of Odisha's Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) during his visit.

Nadda will hold a meeting with the core committee in Odisha on the second day where he will discuss the party's situation in the state and instruct the party workers. Nadda will formulate the poll strategy for the 2024 general elections.