Bhubaneswar: After much dithering, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has finally taken the Sujata Rout Karthikeyan plunge it was expected to take ever since the electoral debacle it suffered two years ago. Whether the decision would help the regional party swim against the tide, stay afloat or sink is a million dollar question considering the complicated situation it currently is in.
Such are the risks involved that the party patriarch Naveen Patnaik, who is known for being very careful with the words he uses in public, had to on his own clarify that Sujata has joined as a “simple worker” and he would lead the party in the next assembly elections in 2029. Never in his nearly three-decade-long career in politics as the president of BJD has Naveen made any such assertion in public about any election, that too at a party joining event. And, mind you, the 2029 polls is still three years away.
From Naveen’s statement itself as well as he choosing to address the former IAS officer and wife of V K Pandian as “Sujata Rout” instead of her official name “Sujata R Karthikeyan”, it’s apparent that Naveen doesn’t want to ruffle too many feathers, least of all of those who swear by Odia Asmita. The BJD top brass’ decision to formally take in Sujata is seemingly well-calibrated though not easy. With panchayat and municipal polls less than a year to go, the BJD needs someone fresh to move around the state and connect with the party rank and file, which has become directionless.
Sujata’s joining the party could also put to rest speculation about Naveen’s succession plan. Now, it’s amply evident that the Pandian couple will call the shots with Sujata gradually becoming the active public figure while her hu
sband, who announced withdrawal from active politics after the 2024 poll defeat, would operate from behind the scenes.
This, in fact, is not lost on the party leaders and workers. The manner in which party functionaries, including several seniors and lawmakers, were seen behaving during Sujata’s joining event on Thursday was reminiscent of the demeanour they exhibited when V K Pandian was considered the “de facto boss” as Private Secretary/5T Secretary to then CM Naveen Patnaik especially from 2014 to 2024.
That Sujata would enjoy a “special status” and not that of a “simple worker” in BJD is beyond doubt. Ergo, those not in the Pandian couple’s good books or unhappy with their dominance shall have to rethink their future in the Conch party. Naveen has clearly exercised his option on who he trusts and relies upon. Which is why, there is a possibility that the simmering discontent within the BJD (evident from the absence of a good number of prominent leaders at Sankha Bhawan during Sujata’s joining event) might create an unbridgeable chasm or even possible revolt because of Sujata’s formal entry.
In such a scenario, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), known for carrying out Operation Lotus in different states against smaller national and regional parties, could try to take advantage and weaken the Naveen-led outfit, which continues to have good organisational presence and grassroots popularity. That’s something Naveen & Co would have surely weighed in before drafting in the former bureaucrat.
On the positive side, the BJD could gain from Sujata’s 25 years’ experience as an administrator; strong connect among women, especially in rural areas, as she served as Director/Secretary of Mission Shakti department for a good number of years during Naveen’s regime; and the obvious support of V K Pandian, who certainly knows a thing or two about governance and politics. Also, unlike her husband, she cannot be labelled an “outsider” by staunch Odia Asmita supporters.
Therefore, Sujata’s emergence, undoubtedly, is significant not just for the BJD but also for Odisha’s political chessboard as it could, to an appreciable extent, impact the gameplan. But whether Mrs Pandian would make or mar the regional party’s prospects shall depend on how Naveen makes his next moves in what could well be his final gambit.