Nadda on two-day visit to Odisha

BJP president JP Nadda arrived on a two-day visit to Odisha on Thursday.

BJP’s state president Samir Mohanty, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, BJP national vice-president Baijayant Panda and Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi were among the leaders who welcomed him at the airport here.

A cultural performance was also held at the airport in his honour.

Nadda, who is on a maiden trip to Odisha as the BJP president, went straight to the party’s state headquarters, in a massive bike rally.

He is scheduled to address around 25,000 panchayat-level leaders at Janata Maidan. He will also hold a meeting over the political situation in the state with MLAs, MPs and other leaders.

Nadda will be travelling to Puri in the evening, and visit the Jagannath Temple on Friday morning before going to Bhadrak where he will meet the family of late BJP MLA Bishnu Charan Sethi.

The BJP chief will address another gathering of heads of the party’s frontal organisations at Janata Maidan on Friday evening before heading back to New Deli.

In a show of strength, the ruling BJD also held a meeting at Baramunda ground in the morning.

A total of 750 police personnel have been deployed in Bhubaneswar to ensure security amid the two party’s political programmes, an official said.