The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday, announced Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan as the candidate from the Sambalpur constituency in Odisha. This announcement was part of the party's fifth list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

On his candidature, Pradhan expressed his gratitude to the party, saying, "I express my gratitude from the bottom of my heart to the party for this candidature. I have full confidence that the people of Sambalpur and Odisha will give the right answer to the trust that the party has shown."