Will VK Pandian, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik’s Man Friday, become his successor?

Odisha’s political circles are abuzz with speculations since former IAS officer V Karthikeyan Pandian took voluntary retirement and got a Cabinet rank position in the Naveen Patnaik-led state government. Once a “publicity-shy” bureaucrat, Pandian has been making headlines for months now. Reports are rife about the trusted aide of the Odisha chief minister assuming a more prominent role in the near future. The development comes as Odisha is gearing up for Assembly elections in the next six months, along with the Lok Sabha polls. Who is VK Pandian and why is he creating buzz? We explain. Who is VK Pandian? A 2000-batch IAS officer, Pandian hails from Tamil Nadu’s Madurai district. He became an Odisha cadre IAS officer in 2000 – coincidentally, the same year that Naveen Patnaik first took over as the state’s chief minister. Pandian is married to Sujata R Karthikeyan, an IAS officer serving as secretary of Odisha’s Mission Shakti department. Born in Odisha’s Kendrapara district, the scuttlebutt about Sujata taking VRS to make a political plunge has surfaced since 2019, but such reports have remained “unfounded”, according to India Today. Pandian, 49, started his career as a sub-collector of Dharmagarh in Kalahandi district, where he streamlined paddy procurement, The Quint reported citing Odisha CMO release. [caption id=“attachment_13296122” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik with VK Pandian. Image Courtesy: Instagram/vkpandian.odisha[/caption] He was appointed as collector of the Mayurbhanj district in 2005. It was during his stint as the district collector of Ganjam between 2007 and 2011 when he caught the attention of chief minister Patnaik. Ganjam is Patnaik’s home district. The 77-year-old Odisha CM appointed Pandian as his private secretary in 2011, a role the now-former bureaucrat occupied until a few days back. Naveen Patnaik’s trusted aide Pandian reportedly gained Patnaik’s confidence in 2012 when the Odisha CM’s mentor-turned-detractor Pyarimohan Mohapatra attempted a coup while the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief was in London. As per The Quint report, it was the former bureaucrat who apparently helped Patnaik in stamping 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. As per ThePrint, the ex-IAS officer is the “mastermind” behind 5T, a governance reform initiative of the Odisha government, which entails “transparency, teamwork, technology and timeliness leading to transformation”. As Pandian gain prominence in Odisha, he also courted controversy. He toured several districts for six months till September, along with other CMO officials, assessing projects, heeding public grievances, and announcing welfare packages, reported ThePrint. However, Pandian received flak from the Opposition for using state helicopters for travelling to these districts across the state – a move defended by the Odisha CM. Once a faceless IAS officer, he was accused of violating the All India Service Rules for bureaucrats. Three days after applying for voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) to exit civil services, his application was granted by the Centre on Monday (23 October). A day later, an order by Odisha’s General Administration and Public Grievance department said Pandian was appointed as Chairman of 5T and Nabin Odisha, a rural development scheme. He will hold the rank of a Cabinet minister and work directly under the Chief Minister, the order added.

IAS officer VK Pandian appointed as Chairman 5T (Transformational Initiatives) and Nabin Odisha in the rank of Cabinet Minister by the Government of Odisha.

He was serving as private secretary to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and his voluntary retirement was approved by… pic.twitter.com/fY1Kdc39n1

— ANI (@ANI) October 24, 2023

Veteran journalist Rajesh Mahapatra told News18 on the development, “It has been almost a year that Pandian has positioned himself as the face of the government and, in the process, has made his political ambitions abundantly clear. It was a matter of time before he would have had to quit his job as a serving bureaucrat and openly get involved in party affairs, which were increasingly seen as acts of impropriety and have drawn widespread criticism from the Opposition”. What next for VK Pandian? Political observers believe Patnaik has set the stage for the former bureaucrat to award him a bigger role in Odisha’s politics. “VK Pandian is handling the affairs of the CM on behalf of the CM. The kind of responsibility and response he has got is inspiring. There is a perception among people that he is being projected as the next chief minister,” Dilip Bisoi, a journalist with 30 years of experience, told India Today. There have also been rumours about Patnaik’s ill health, which he has denied. The veteran politician, who is vying for a sixth term in Odisha, is yet to announce his successor. Some say, Pandian could be the next BJD chief. Speaking to India Today, Rajaram Satapathy, a journalist who has covered Odisha politics for 40 years, said: “VK Pandian is being projected as the next BJD chief. Whether he will succeed or not, whether he will be accepted by the people of Odisha is a different question altogether”. Despite “no competition” and his perceived clout in the BJD, Pandian is not an Odia and is reportedly seen as an outsider. “Other BJD leaders haven’t questioned his role in the party. As for the general public, his acceptance hasn’t been tested yet. The examination of whether the people of Odisha accept Pandian as their leader, who is not from the state, will take place with the 2024 election,” Satapathy told India Today. With inputs from agencies