Bureaucrat Aparajita Sarangi joins politics

Usually I avoid writing about persons whom I personally don't know much about. But recently an extremely close friend of mine prodded me to pen a few lines about this lady bureaucrat, excited by the prospect of her joining politics and bringing some much needed changes to the state of Odisha - a state my heart belongs to, though I have been living thousands of miles away from it.

Frankly, I am no big fan of Babus. Many of them are great in academics and slug their way into Civil Services only to end up serving their political masters and become their pawns than contribute anything noteworty to their nation or state. Some become quite controversial and even outright corrupt, giving a bad name and reputation to their service and leaving a bad taste overall.

But some do a pretty good job in their job. As indicated by my friend, Aparajita Sarangi, an IAS officer from Odisha cadre belongs to the later category. She has just resigned from her services and joined BJP, a national political party and expected to contest from Odisha in the next elections. My friend has big hopes on her and managed to persuade the cynic in me to write about her, hoping that presence of more intellectuals in politics can make a major dent to public life in a more positive way.

Mrs. Sarangi is known as an efficient Officer who has carved her niche as the Collector of district Khurda and BMC Commissioner. My friends back home have a lot of positives to speak about her efficiency in executing massive projects on time. Her commendable job in streamlining the Department of Mass Education towards better efficiency has been much noted and published on media - social or otherwise. It is said, she has worked diligently towards the girl's education and women's right, striving hard for the betterment of the biggest minority of India, the fairer sex.

Looks like a horde of ex-bureaucrats are joining politics in Odisha just in time before the approaching election. Though not an unsual phenomenon across India, this is arguably the first time a good number of ex-Babus (a Babuani in case of Mrs. Sarangi) are jumping into the political bandwagon. Hope they do some good work, unlike their predecessors, the likes of Natwar Singh and Yashwant Sinha who don't have a great reputation behind them much to write about.

I am positive she will be different from her tribe and deliver in a state dominated by poor tribes whose habitat extends from North East to South western part of Odisha. Unlike the in and around the state Capital of Bhubaneswar where she has done a wonderful job, there is a lot to be done in rest of the state where the much neglected Odisha heartland resides. Good luck lady.