Pratap Sarangi said, "I consider politics as a medium to serve the nation."

Pratap Sarangi, the lawmaker from Odisha's Balasore who was sworn in to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new council of ministers on Friday said he considers politics as a medium to serve the nation.

Mr Sarangi, who took oath on Thursday along with 57 other BJP-led NDA leaders, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for including his name in the list of cabinet ministers.

"I am fortunate that Prime Minister Modi has trust in me. I consider politics as a medium to serve the nation. Our party stands for nation first, party second and self last. I will try my best to win the trust of Modi ji and the common people," he told news agency ANI.

Coming from humble origins, photographs of Mr Sarangi riding a bicycle, packing a bag, emerging out of a thatched house went viral on social media, earning him the moniker of "Odisha's Modi".

He is Mr Pratap Sarangi, MP from Balasore and sworn in as Minister of State.



No wealth, living under thatched roof, owns only a bicycle & has opened 100's of schools for tribals.



A selfless soldier of India.



PS: This is the beauty of Indian Democracy. Mera desh badal raha hai. pic.twitter.com/A4yT9YzRv2 — Zakir Khan (@ZakirKhan012) May 30, 2019

Mr Sarangi, a long-time member of the BJP's ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has been appointed Minister of State in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and the Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries.

Earlier today, Mr Sarangi offered prayers at Jagannath temple here in Hauz Khas area, along with Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and his wife Mridula.

Before entering into the Lok Sabha, Mr Sarangi was twice elected to the Odisha Assembly in 2004 and 2009 from Balasore parliamentary constituency.

In 2004, he was elected as a BJP candidate in the Odisha assembly. In 2009, the current Balasore lawmaker was elected as an Independent.

(With Inputs From ANI)