Corporate boost for BJD as former Aditya Birla exec joins Patnaik party

Lauding Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for his work for Odisha, Santrupt Misra said he decided to join the BJD to further accelerate the development of the state.

Lauding CM Patnaik for his work for the state, Misra said he has decided to join the party to further accelerate the development of the state and to make it the most developed state by 2036, when it would turn 100 years. (Express)

Corporate leader and former senior executive of Aditya Birla Group Santrupt Misra joined the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in presence of party president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at Naveen Niwas in Bhubaneswar on Friday.

Hours after his induction, the party appointed him as the national spokesperson. There are also speculations that Misra may be one among the three BJD nominees for Rajya Sabha. BJD sources said he may also be fielded from the Puri Lok Sabha seat.

“I welcome Santrupt Misra to the BJD. He has left a very important job in the corporate world to help us in our good work in Odisha. We will decide what position he will look after,” said Patnaik.

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A native of Puri, Misra is probably the first highly placed corporate leader to have joined the ruling BJD in recent years. Misra, who had served as the director, group human resources (HR) at the KM Birla-led business conglomerate, took early retirement from the job in December after serving the company for more than 27 years.

He had also worked as director in several other Birla-owned companies, including Birla Carbon and Birla Chemicals. Besides shaping the employee policies in the Aditya Birla Group, Misra was also assigned the responsibility of guiding Birla scions like Aryaman Birla and Ananya Birla.

“It’s an important day for me because I got an opportunity to return to my birthplace and serve my state through the BJD, which is known to be the most progressive party in India. Though I had spent most of my life outside the state, I had a small part of Odisha within me. I always wanted to return to Odisha and to work for the state,” Mishra told the media.

Lauding the chief minister for his work for the state, Misra said he has decided to join the party to further accelerate the development of the state and to make it the most developed state by 2036, when it would turn 100 years.

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“I don’t know what responsibility I will get but whatever I am given, I will do it with utmost discipline,” said Misra to queries about the chances of his Rajya Sabha nomination.

Misra’s LinkedIn profile said he studied in Utkal University at Bhubaneswar then pursued his masters in personnel management and industrial relations from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. He has also done his PhD from the Aston Business School at Birmingham in England.

In June 2021, the Odisha government had roped in Misra as the chairman of the project advisory committee of the EKAMRA project that aimed to redevelop the areas surrounding the 11th century Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar.

Misra’s wife Alka is currently serving as the chairperson of the Odisha Skill Development Authority.

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