New Delhi: Pratap Sarangi lives in a thatched house, rides a bicycle and spends a major portion of his MLA pension to support education of poor children. For 64-year-old Sarangi, who once nurtured the desire to be a monk and lives an austere life, his hard work and dedication to people appear to have earned him a berth in the new Narendra Modi Government.

The BJP leader, who has had a long associating with the Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), made his maiden entry to Lok Sabha by winning from Odisha's Balasore constituency defeating sitting BJD MP and industrialist Rabindra Kumar Jena by 12,956 votes in the recent Lok Sabha polls.