A mid the melee and uproar at Makar Dwar of Parliament, the image of Pratap Chandra Sarangi, frail and bloodied, with a handkerchief pressed against his forehead, evoked a strange sense of irony. It felt as though the wheels of time had come to a full circle for the BJP MP from Balasore.
Twenty-two years ago, in March 2002, Sarangi had been at the heart of a different kind of storm — a violent protest in Bhubaneswar over the Ram Janmabhoomi issue. As part of the VHP, Bajrang Dal, and Durga Vahini agitation, Sarangi was among the 62 arrested after a mob stormed the Odisha Assembly, vandalising property, attacking chambers of then chief minister Naveen Patnaik and ministers, and clashing with security personnel. This, even when the BJP was in government in alliance with the BJD.
But on Thursday, Sarangi found himself on the other side — injured and at the receiving end of political chaos. The incident unfolded during a face-off between BJP and INDIA bloc MPs. Sarangi, who was standing on the stairs, was hit by a falling MP, allegedly pushed by LoP Rahul Gandhi. “I was standing near the stairs when Rahul Gandhi came and pushed an MP, who then fell on me,” Sarangi said.
In that moment, it was hard to ignore the striking parallel to his past. From leading aggressive agitations to now being an unintended victim of one, Sarangi’s journey has been a tumultuous one, marked by both fierce ideological commitment and controversial stances.
Often touted as ‘Odisha’s Modi’ for sharing the prime minister’s humble beginning, austere living, firebrand politics and strong oratory, Sarangi, also a bachelor, has made his way up from the dusty village of Gopinathpur in Balasore to the halls of Parliament as a two-time MP. In between, he was elected twice to the Odisha Assembly.
The 69-year-old also had the desire to become a monk at Ramkrishna Math at Belur in Kolkata during his youth, but was sent back with the directive to take care of his widowed mother and serve the people. He returned to join the RSS and dedicated himself to spearheading education in the rural areas.
He made his mark in his campaigns against liquor, cow smuggling and corruption as also establishing hundreds of Ekal Vidyalayas in Balasore and Mayurbhanj. He was subsequently deputed to the affiliate organisations and rose through the ranks to become the state president of the Bajrang Dal and the state joint secretary of VHP.
Two years after the Assembly incident, Sarangi entered the House as a BJP member from Nilagiri in 2004. During his tenure as an MLA, Sarangi earned a reputation for being a man of the people.
His focus on education and social welfare won him support and fuelled his rise in politics and in the party. He was elected to the Assembly again in 2009, but as an Independent because he lost the party ticket, which he had put in a bag while travelling in a bus.
After serving two terms in the Assembly, Sarangi was drafted to national politics with the BJP fielding him from Balasore in 2014. He lost the election to BJD’s Rabindra Kumar Jena but bounced back in 2019, campaigning by bicycle and autorickshaw, to snatch the seat.
Sarangi was appointed MoS for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Animal Husbandry in the Modi government. Even as he was dropped from the ministry two years later, his tenure was marked by his focus on rural development and empowering local businesses. He retained the seat in 2024 when the BJP made a clean sweep in Odisha.
But for all his political success, Sarangi remains a controversy’s child and a polarising figure. The 1999 Graham Staines murder has loomed over his career.
He was the Bajrang Dal state chief when the Australian missionary and his two sons were burnt alive by a mob led by Dara Singh in Manoharpur village of Keonjhar. While Dara Singh was stated to be a member of Bajrang Dal, Sarangi denied his or the outfit’s involvement in the crime.
For Sarangi who has led ideological and political street fights for a major part of his career, the image of him standing bloodied as a victim could well shape his future. How, only time will tell.