While politician Soumya Ranjan Patnaik joining the BJD was a matter of speculation for a long time, apolitical Achyuta Samanta, who is known internationally for being devoted to social work, stunned one and all when he chose to come to the Sate’s ruling party fold also on Wednesday.
Dr Samanta, an iconic figure for his stewardship in running the world’s largest free-of-cost residential tribal educational institution, Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences, with about 50,000 boys and girls on roll, enrolled himself in the rank of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in the presence of party supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at the latter’s residence Naveen Niwas.
While Patnaik warmly welcomed him to the BJD family, Samanta told the media that his decision to join politics was influenced by his desire to widen the horizon of his social service mission. And he has come to the BJD with no expectation for political positions, he added.