Bhubaneswar: Odisha cadre IAS officer Aparajita Sarangi, whose Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) application was approved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently, is all set to join the BJP on November 27, top sources said today.

According to the source, the 1994-batch bureaucrat will join the Saffron Party in New Delhi in presence of party Chief Amit Shah and other senior leaders.

Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who is from Odisha, will be present on the occasion, it added.

Sarangi will return to Odisha the following day where the state BJP leaders will welcome her at the party office in Bhubaneswar.

Speculation is rife that she might contest 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha seat on a BJP ticket. Sarangi, however, neither confirmed nor denied it.

Also Read: Odisha govt approves IAS officer Aparajita Sarangi’s plea for voluntary retirement

Odisha Government had approved her VRS application on November 14. She had applied for VRS on September 15.

The Bihar-born IAS officer, according to political observers, was wooed by the BJP top brass in order to put up a strong show in 2019 elections.

Sarangi was making headlines frequently and perceived to be very popular during her BMC stint from 2006 to 2009 for her strict principles and several measures to address civic woes in the city.

On September 15, the 49-year-old bureaucrat had applied for voluntary retirement from the premier service.

Married to her batchmate Santosh Sarangi, she had worked as Director, Panchayati Raj Department; Secretary, School and Mass Education Department; Secretary, Higher Education; Commissioner, consolidation; and Secretary, Textiles and Handloom.