Former Odisha-cadre IAS officer Aparajita Sarangi joins BJP

Bhubaneswar: Former Odisha-cadre IAS officer Aparajita Sarangi, who recently opted for voluntary retirement, formally joined the BJP in New Delhi today.

Sarangi was inducted into the party at BJP national president Amit Shah’s residence in New Delhi in the presence of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Odisha BJP unit president Basant Panda, BJP Odisha in-charge Arun Singh and other senior leaders.

“I took the decision of joining the BJP after consulting with many persons. The party’s motto and leaders made me choose BJP which not only assures development but ensures speed in development. Politics is a huge platform for serving the people, for which I quit bureaucracy and came to politics. I am confident that I will be successful in this field,” Sarangi said.

She is scheduled to return Odisha tomorrow and will be welcomed by the party leaders of the state unit. Speculation is rife that she might contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha seat on a BJP ticket. Sarangi, however, neither confirmed nor denied it.

The Odisha Government had approved Sarangi’s VRS (Voluntary Retirement Scheme) application on November 14. Similarly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had accepted her voluntary retirement plea on November 16.

The former 1994-batch IAS officer was serving as the Joint Secretary of MGNREGA under Ministry of Rural Development. Her five-year tenure on central deputation had ended in August.

She had remained in media glare for her strict principles and several measures during her tenure in the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) from 2006 to 2009 to address civic woes in the city.