Pratap Chandra Sarangi, an RSS ideologue who took the oath of office as Minister of State on Thursday, is not associated with things that politicians are usually known for.

While his political rivals can boast of largesse election campaigning using luxury cars in tow and employing professional services, Sarangi hired auto-rickshaws to seek votes for himself and relied mostly on his upright stance and in-depth knowledge on a vast range of issues.

Sarangi is known as an austere political activist, maverick and plain spoken. In a television interview to OTV, a regional channel, Sarangi was asked if he was “abibahita” (unmarried) or “brahmacharya” (celibate). Sarangi promptly said “unmarried” and then “no” to the question on celibacy.

Sarangi went on to explain that as a 28-year-old, he wanted to join the Ramakrishna Math and Mission at Belur Math to pursue spiritual salvation and even managed to meet Swami Atmasthananda who asked Sarangi if he had any dependents.

When Sarangi said he had an old and widowed mother who counted on him, he was advised to look after her. After that, he stayed unmarried and looked after his mother until she died last year.

He is popular among the masses for his sharp intellect, his firebrand oratory skills in both Odia and Sanskrit, and riding around the villages in a bicycle.

Sarangi, who comes from a humble background, is loved for his selfless service and widely respected across Odisha for his honesty.

According to reports, few days after Cyclone Fani ravaged parts of Odisha, he rendered his selfless service and tirelessly cleaned the broken tree branches strewn around in the coastal town of Puri. Even earlier, he could be spotted eating vada and aalu chop from roadside vendors in Bhubaneswar.

Riding on a strong wave of support, he won the 2019 General elections from Balasore Lok Sabha seat in Odisha even though he was pitted against two prominent millionaire candidates – BJD’s Rabindra Kumar Jena and Congress candidate Nabajyoti Patnaik.

Well known in coastal Odisha’s politics, Sarangi campaigning on a bicycle triumphed over two of the richest candidates in Odisha.

While Navajyoti Patnaik, the son of state Congress chief Niranjan Patnaik, has assets in excess of Rs 104 crore, incumbent BJD MP Rabindra Jena’s assets were around Rs 72 crore.

In his election affidavit, Sarangi declared moveable assets of Rs 1.5 lakh and immovable assets of Rs 15 lakh. His sources of income are pension and agriculture and he has seven criminal cases against him.

Sarangi has also been deeply involved in local protests, such as anti-liquor movements and education and he had opened Samrkara Kendras in tribal villages under the Gana Shiksha Mandir Yojana in Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts.

Through his campaign in 2019, the issues in Balasore ranged from agriculture and chit fund scams to an inland waterway. Incidentally, Jena was questioned by CBI in 2016 during its investigation into the chit fund scam and many believe Patnaik spent little time in the constituency before the campaign.

On the other hand, Sarangi had an enthusiastic cadre. He had served as president of the Odisha Bajrang Dal unit and was previously a senior member of the state VHP unit.

Sarangi has served as a two-time MLA from Nilagiri seat in Balasore as an independent candidate and has been known for raising issues of public importance. In the 2014 general elections, he had contested on a BJP ticket from Balasore Lok Sabha seat but lost to Jena by 1.42 lakh votes.

Interestingly, PM Modi campaigned for Sarangi in Balasore and now he has inducted Sarangi into his council of ministers.

His own goodwill among the voters, supplemented by PM Narendra Modi’s wave, and his image of a Hindutva leader acted as a catalyst in his journey to the Parliament.

Apart from talking about chit fund corruption and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s development agenda, Sarangi also led a door to door campaign ultimately winning a tight contest by 12,956 votes.