In what comes as a big boost for the BJP in the state of Odisha, former IAS officer, Aparajita Sarangi joined the BJP on Tuesday. She was inducted in the party by BJP president Amit Shah at a ceremony at his residence in New Delhi. Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Odisha party chief Basanta Panda and the BJP’s Odisha in-charge Arun Singh were also present at the ceremony.
After joining the party, Aparajita Sarangi made it clear that she has a strong value system and loves to take on challenges. She added, “Working with the BJP will give me the opportunity to pursue both. The party’s motto and leaders made me choose the BJP, which not only assures development but also ensures speedy development.” She also said, “I want to work for the people on a very large scale. Politics is the only platform that provides this kind of opportunity. I strongly feel that getting into politics will provide me with a bigger platform, I’ll be able to work with people of Odisha much better.”
Aparajita Sarangi, a 1994-batch IAS officer, had been on central deputation for five years. Recently, in September, she opted for the voluntary retirement scheme. PM Modi approved her application on November 15 on the recommendation of Odisha government. She retired from service 11 years ahead of her scheduled retirement.
There is speculation that Sarangi might contest elections from the Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha constituency or any of the three legislative constituencies in the city. If she is fielded in the elections, it would come as a huge boost for the BJP given the popularity that she enjoyed during her tenure as commissioner of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation from 2006 to 2009. Some of the remarkable changes brought about by her in Odisha’s capital city include cleanliness, road landscaping and setting up vending zones. The changes were so remarkable and visible that she became a household name in the city. Now, if she were to contest from a BJP ticket, then it would not only put BJP in a position of strength in Bhubneswar but also help it in generating a popular sentiment in its favour in the surrounding constituencies.
Interestingly, this comes at a time when the BJP already seems to be enjoying a very strong sentiment in its favour in Odisha. Recently, Dailyhunt’s “Trust of Odisha” survey predicted a massive victory for the BJP in the state. According to 61% of the respondents in the survey, ‘Modi magic’ will work in the state and the party will dethrone BJD from the state while only 39% believe that it ‘Modi Magic’ will not work. There are clear signs of massive anti-incumbency in the state against BJD and in favour of the BJP.
In fact, 62% of the respondents opined that Odisha will change the CM after the next elections whereas merely 38% opined that Patnaik will come back to power. Similarly, as far as giving another chance to the incumbent government is concerned, 63% of the respondents made it clear that they will not be giving a second chance to the present government and merely 37% of the respondents stated that they will be giving a second chance to the Patnaik government.
The anti-incumbency factor against the Patnaik government coupled with the phenomenal rise of the BJP in the state, as illustrated by a multifold increase in its vote share in the Zilla Parishad polls, has set up things beautifully for the BJP. Therefore, the induction of former IAS officer Aparajita Sarangi could not have come at a better time for the BJP. With yet another encouraging sign for BJP, it seems all set to make substantial gains in the state of Odisha.