Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan thinks of 'INDIA as real challenge'. Here's why

The opposition INDIA bloc is a "real challenge", Union Minister and senior BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan said on Friday, adding he has requested his party to allow him to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from his home state Odisha.

In an interview with PTI, Pradhan, who is a Rajya Sabha member, said the BJP's agenda is to ensure that Prime Minister Narendra Modi gets to serve the nation for a third term.

"I consider it (INDIA bloc) as a real challenge because the BJP and the NDA do not take any election casually. From ground workers to top leaders, everybody takes each election very seriously and the prime minister leads us from the front," he said.

On his wish to fight the Lok Sabha elections, he said, "I have already informed the party about my wish and have requested it to give me a chance. The BJP's agenda is to ensure that Prime Minister Narendra Modi gets to serve the nation for a third term." Speaking about the women's reservation bill, Pradhan said Prime Minister Modi has set an example by giving political rights to the country's mothers and sisters.

"The Congress let the women's reservation bill lapse and did not show any dedication to it during its rule. Nobody had held their hands. They had the opportunity (to get the bill passed) but they did not do it," he said.

Pradhan attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his demand for a nationwide caste census, saying he and his "family party" should share details of the work they did for the OBCs and weaker sections in the last 75 years.