VK Pandian quits ‘active politics’: The meteoric fall of Naveen Patnaik’s Man Friday

VK Pandian, a close aide of the outgoing Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, has quit “active politics”. Apologising to the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) parivar (family) in a video message on Sunday (9 June), he said he was “sorry” if the political campaign narrative against him played a part in the party’s loss in Odisha.

The BJD faced a humiliating defeat in the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls held simultaneously, ending Patnaik’s 24-year rule in Odisha. Pandian, who has Tamil roots, was labelled an “outsider” and attacked over his non-Odia identity.

“My aim to join politics was to assist Naveen babu and now consciously I decide(d) to withdraw from active politics. I am sorry if I have hurt anyone in this journey. I am sorry if this campaign narrative against me has had a part to play with BJD’s loss. I apologise to the entire Biju Parivar,” he said in the over four-minute clip.

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#WATCH | 5T Chairman & BJD leader VK Pandian says, "...Now consciously I decide to withdraw myself from active politics. I am sorry if I have hurt anyone on this journey. I am sorry if this campaign narrative against me has had a part to play in BJD's loss..."

(Source: BJD) pic.twitter.com/Hf1stid8Gn

— ANI (@ANI) June 9, 2024

Once seen as Patnaik’s successor, what led to the mighty fall of Pandian? Let’s understand.

The making of VK Pandian

Born in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai, Pandian is a 2000-batch IAS officer of the Odisha cadre. He served as Patnaik’s private secretary for 12 years.

Reports say Pandian gained the 77-year-old leader’s confidence in 2012 when Patnaik’s mentor-turned-detractor Pyarimohan Mohapatra attempted a coup while the BJD chief was in London.

As per The Quint article, it was the former bureaucrat who helped Patnaik stamp out his “toughest challenge” yet from within the BJD, thus gaining a place as the CM’s trusted advisor.

When Patnaik returned as Odisha’s chief minister for the fifth time in 2019, Pandian was made the Secretary of 5T or Five Transformational Initiatives, which stands for teamwork, transparency, technology, time and transformation.

While there was no department named 5T, all departments were requited to have their ‘5T’ vision and report to Patnaik’s private secretary, noted Hindustan Times (HT).

As Patnaik gave more control to his then private secretary and himself took a back seat in recent years, Pandian started virtually controlling the state administration.

As SN Sahu, who served as an officer on special duty to former President KR Narayanan, wrote in an article published in The Wire, “Nothing moved in the government and the BJD without clearance from Pandian.”

Even senior BJD leaders were left miffed as Pandian’s stature and power grew. He was widely considered Patnaik’s successor. These speculations reached their peak in October last year when he quit civil services and officially joined the BJD.

The fall of VK Pandian

After the BJD’s alliance talks with the BJP fell apart, the saffron party kickstarted an aggressive electoral campaign against Pandian by indicating he controlled the governance in Odisha.

The ex-IAS officer became an easy target for the saffron party due to his Tamil roots. The BJD’s rank and file were irked by Pandian as he emerged as the star campaigner during the polls. As per HT, the former bureaucrat even decided the BJD’s ticket distribution, further sidelining the senior party leaders.

While Pandian did not hold any position in the BJD, the clamour grew that he was the heir apparent of Patnaik. Despite the Odisha CM denying this during the last phase of the elections, the damage was done.

The BJP swept the Lok Sabha polls, winning 20 of the 21 seats. The Congress bagged the remaining one seat and Patnaik’s party drew a blank.

In the Odisha Assembly polls, the saffron party secured 78 out of 147 seats, while the BJD was reduced to 51 seats. The Congress got 14 seats, three were won by Independents and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M) clinched one seat.

VK Pandian bows out (for now)

Pandian came into the line of fire after the BJD’s massive defeat in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. However, Patnaik came forward to defend him, terming the criticism “unfortunate”.

“It has also come to my notice about some criticism of Mr Pandian. This is unfortunate. As an officer he did excellent job in many fields, helping in two major cyclones and COVID-19 epidemic in our State in the past 10 years,” the BJD chief said.

Soon after the results, there were signs that Pandian would be the “fall guy” in the BJD’s electoral rout. As HT noted, he was not present when Patnaik went to tender his resignation as Odisha CM and in the two meetings held with the winning and losing party legislators.

On Sunday, this was proved. Speaking to India Today TV after announcing his exit from ‘active politics’, Pandian said he failed to “foresee” the BJP’s campaign that focused on him being an “outsider” in Odisha.

“The way campaigning was done attacking my origin and my place or birth was something that I didn’t foresee. I gracefully accept my limitations because of my place of birth. I put my heart out and I did hard work. I did everything possible, but finally, the place of birth was an issue,” he said.

When asked what he would do next, Pandian did not give a definitive reply, saying “he would leave it to God”.

“I will take one day at a time. I will live with my pension and look forward to doing something whatever will come in my way. I will take some time and decide,” the former bureaucrat told India Today TV.

There could be trouble for Pandian in the near future as the BJP forms a government in Odisha. As per HT, the saffron party could launch an official probe into alleged transgressions during his tenure as an IAS officer.

However, at this point, it is hard to say what will be the future of Patnaik’s trusted aide.

With inputs from agencies