Bhubaneswar: Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday welcomed Nabin Odisha and 5T chairman V K Pandian into the party fold.
The former bureaucrat took blessings of the CM by touching his feet before formally joining the Conch party at 10.15 am in presence of several senior BJD leaders, ending days of speculation about him taking a plunge into state politics after his voluntary retirement from service almost a month ago. “Pandian has been working hard for the people of Odisha for a number of years and he will continue to do so in the future as a member of the party,” Naveen said.
Pandian said with the blessings of Lord Jagannath and under the guidance of the CM, he will work for the people of the state with sincerity, dedication, selflessness and humility. He also sought the cooperation of all party leaders.
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He later got a rousing reception at Sankha Bhawan, BJD‘s state headquarters.
Though Pandian is yet to be assigned a role in the party, BJD insiders said that he could play a crucial part in designing the party’s campaign plan and candidate selection for the twin polls in April-May next year. He has earlier been hailed as Naveen’s political strategist.
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Earlier speaking to reports at Naveen Niwas, Puri MP Pinaki Misra tried to downplay the speculation over how accepting are the senior leaders about his entry in the regional party Of Odisha. “All the senior leaders are happy with his induction into the party,” he said, adding that his past administrative and political experience will be an asset for the party.
Pandian is a Tamilian, married to his IAS batch mate Sujata, who hails from Odisha’s Kendrapada.
The 2000-batch IAS officer, who had courted several controversies and was accused of violating the service rule, took voluntary retirement from government service on October 23. A day later, he was given a Cabinet rank and appointed as chairman of Nabin Odisha and 5T (transformational initiatives), which he headed previously as secretary.
Also Read: V K Pandian: Can He Make The Big Transition?
Pandian has been very powerful in the Naveen Patnaik dispensation especially since 2019 when he was made Secretary to Chief Minister (Transformation and Initiatives), popularly called 5T Secretary, and the fact that the Odisha and the central governments okayed his VRS application within two working days, waived the notice period and the state General Administration department notified his appointment as ‘Chairman of 5T (Transformational Initiatives) and Nabin Odisha’ with Cabinet rank within hours of his retirement spoke volumes about his plans and influence.
