BHUBANESHWAR: Former IAS officer Aparajita Sarangi today formally joined the BJP at New Delhi. Aparajita joined BJP in the official residence of national president Amit Shah in the presence of union minister for petroleum and natural gas Dharmendra Pradhan, state unit president Basant Panda and party's Odisha in-charge Arun Singh.
She will reach Bhubaneswar tomorrow and attend a meeting at the party headquarters here. Speculations are rife in the political circles here that Aparajita will play a big role in the BJP's scheme of things for the 2019 elections.
However, it is yet to be clear whether she will contest from the Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha seat or Bhubaneswar central assembly constituency. Party's senior leader Biswabhusan Harichandan had, however, said on Friday that there is a tentative decision to shift his son Pruthviraj Harichandan to the Chilika assembly constituency for the 2019 elections. Harichandan junior had unsuccessfully contested the 2014 Lok Sabha polls from Bhubaneswar.
Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Jual Oram, however, played down the issue of Aparajita's future role in the BJP. “She has joined as a primary member of BJP,” he said. Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly and Congress veteran Narasingh Mishra said that Aparajita joining BJP will have no impact in state's politics.
Bureaucrats joining political parties is nothing new and the matter should not be given so much importance, he said. A 1994-batch Odisha cadre IAS officer, Aparajita was the joint secretary in the Ministry of Rural Development. Her five-year tenure of central deputation was over in August this year. The Centre had approved her application for voluntary retirement from service (VRS) on November 17 after the Odisha government gave its go-ahead on November 14.
She had applied for VRS on September 15. During her service tenure in Odisha, Aparajit had worked as the director, Panchayati Raj; secretary, School and Mass Education; secretary, Higher Education; commissioner, Consolidation and secretary, Textiles and Handloom. Talking to mediapersons after joining BJP, Aparajita said politics is the best medium to serve people.
Asked about the reason to join the BJP, Aparajita said she decided to join the saffron party after a thorough review. She said BJP is a development oriented party and is focused on the nation's development. “I am also deeply influenced by the work ethics of the Prime Minister,” she said. The former IAS officer, however, said that she will abide by the party's decision on whether to contest the next elections.