Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s trusted aide and former IAS officer V Karthikeyan Pandian on Monday formally joined the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD), ending days of speculation of future course of action a month after volunteering to retire from All India Civil Service.
Pandian, widely regarded as the blue-eyed of Patnaik after the regional party came to power for the record fifth term in 2019, joined the ruling in the presence of the chief minister, ministers, MLAs and senior BJD leaders.
It may be noted that Pandian, who is widely regarded as the centre of power in the government and the regional outfit party, had taken voluntary retirement from service last month when he was the Private Secretary to CM Naveen Patnaik.
After his voluntary retirement from civil services, he was promptly appointed as the Chairman of 5T and Nabin Odisha with the rank of a Cabinet Minister.
Each step has been very meticulously planned. Prior to his VRS, Pandian had toured the entire state, interacted with women groups, students , common people and members of various outfits as private secretary to CM.
The buildup was done and he quit the service. And after being made the Chairman 5T, he met scores of people, service associations, NGOs , doctors etc . The interactive sessions were apparent attempts to make himself familiar to groups and organisations before joining the party on MOnday.