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Dharmendra Pradhan started his political career as an activist with the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in 1983. In 2000, he was elected as an MLA in Odisha. In 2004, he was elected as a member of the 14th Lok Sabha from his father’s constituency, Deogarh, in Odisha.
Pradhan has worked extensively under the banner of the Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha. In 2010, he was appointed the National General Secretary of the BJP. In 2014, he was made Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and eventually given additional charge of the Ministry of Skill Development.
His proximity to the BJP top brass is said to have aided Pradhan’s meteoric rise in the party. He is said to have been preparing ground for a larger role in Odisha. For nearly four years, corridors were abuzz with talk of him eyeing the CM’s post in his State. But the sweep by Naveen Patnaik in the recent Assembly elections has dampened Pradhan’s hopes for the next five years.
As Petroleum Minister, Pradhan will be remembered for laying the foundation of the Urja Ganga pipeline network, provisioning free LPG connections and plugging cooking gas subsidy diversions.
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