Ex-Odisha Cadre IAS Officer Aparajita Sarangi Joins BJP

New Delhi: Former IAS officer Aparajita Sarangi formally joined the BJP in New Delhi on Tuesday.

According to reports, Aparajita arrived at the official residence of the BJP national president Amit Shah at 11 Akbar Road at 9 am and joined the party in the presence of Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, president of the Odisha BJP unit Basanta Panda and senior BJP leader and Odisha in-charge, Arun Singh.

Sources in the party said that Aparajita will return to Bhubaneswar the following day and attend a meeting at the state party office.

It is not yet clear whether she would contest the 2019 elections from Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha seat or Bhubaneswar central assembly constituency.

A 1994-batch Odisha cadre IAS officer, Aparajita was the joint secretary (MGNREGA), Ministry of Rural Development while her five-year tenure on central deputation had ended 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.