Nurturing the desire to be a monk, 64-year-old Pratap Sarangi leads an austere life. His hard work and dedication to people appear to have earned him a berth in the new Narendra Modi Government. He lives in a thatched house, rides a bicycle and spends a major portion of his MLA pension to support education of poor children.
Pictures of Sarangi have gone viral on the social media, that show him in his modest house and bathing at the village well.
The first-time parliamentarian is fondly called as 'Odisha's Modi'.
Not just on the social media, Pratap Chandra Sarangi stole the show yet again on Thursday, when he secured a berth in the Narendra Modi-led Union council of ministers during the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The Union council of ministers and others in attendance cheered and gave a standing ovation to Pratap Sarangi, also known as Odisha's Modi for his simplicity, just before he was administered the oath of office and secrecy by President Ram Nath Kovind.
Pratap Sarangi takes oath at Rashtrapati Bhavan
Who is Pratap Sarangi?
Sarangi is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, who was elected to Odisha Assembly twice in 2004 and 2009 from Nilagiri constituency in Balasore district.
Earlier, he had also contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Balasore constituency but faced defeat.
Sarangi, who also has been long associated with the RSS (Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh), had won from Odisha's Balasore constituency defeating sitting BJD MP and industrialist Rabindra Kumar Jena by 12,956 votes in the recent Lok Sabha polls. This paved the way for his entry to Lok Sabha.
However, Sarangi's association with active politics and electoral victories has not affected his lifestyle.
He continues to live in a mud and bamboo house, rides a bicycle to most places, even during his earlier poll campaigns. Moreover, he has dedicated his life to social work and uplift of the poor and lives like an ascetic.
A bachelor, Sarangi is said to be spending the major portion of his MLA pension to support education of poor children in his area. After graduating from Fakir Mohan College in Balasore, the firebrand leader, who is fluent in Sanskrit, wanted to become a monk of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission but the math encouraged him to engage himself in social work instead.
Thereafter, he started serving people in and around his village and got associated with RSS and VHP.
The Balasore MP is credited with opening a number of schools for the poor children in the tribal and remote areas of Mayurbhanj and Balasore districts of the state which were devoid of educational facilities.
Sarangi has also functioned as the Odisha unit president of Bajrang Dal and spearheaded a movement for the protection of cows.
In the run-up to the recent elections, Sarangi adopted his own style of campaigning, which was in sharp contrast to that of his rivals who had hired professional agencies and campaign managers.
Sarangi relied on party workers and moved around in an autorickshaw. The newly elected lawmaker is firm that his new status as a parliamentarian will not change his lifestyle as he believes in working for the people and serving the country.
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