Former IAS Officer Sujata Rout Karthikeyan Offers Prayers at Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri

Puri: Former IAS officer Sujata Rout Karthikeyan, who recently joined the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), visited the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri on Friday evening, where she offered prayers and sought the blessings of Lord Jagannath.

A 2000-batch Odisha cadre IAS officer, Sujata Rout Karthikeyan took voluntary retirement from the civil services in 2025 after a distinguished administrative career spanning over two decades. She held several key positions in the Odisha government and is widely recognised for her contribution to the implementation and expansion of women-centric welfare initiatives, including Mission Shakti. She formally joined the BJD on June 25, 2026, under the leadership of former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

During her visit to the 12th-century shrine, she paid obeisance to the deities and prayed for the peace, prosperity and well-being of the people of Odisha.

She was accompanied by Shri Sanjay Kumar Dasburma, Political Affairs Committee (PAC) Member of BJD and former Minister, and Shri Subhasish Khuntia, Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament. The leaders had darshan of the deities and spent some time in the temple premises during the visit.

The visit comes a day after Sujata Rout Karthikeyan’s formal induction into the BJD and marks one of her first public appearances following her entry into active politics.