Former IAS officer V K Pandian, a trusted aide of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, officially joined the BJD on Monday in a ceremony at Naveen Niwas in Bhubaneswar, attended by Patnaik and other senior party leaders.
The BJD’s decision to welcome Pandian into the party on Kartik Purnima, a considered auspicious day in Odisha, carries significant political weight. While the specific role and position that Pandian will assume within the party are yet to be clarified, BJD insiders indicate that his influence, particularly in Odisha’s power circles, will be instrumental in shaping the party’s strategy for the upcoming Assembly and general elections scheduled for April-May next year.
Also read: “My first target is to defeat BRS in Telangana”: Rahul Gandhi
Pandian, an IAS officer from the 2000 batch, hailing from Tamil Nadu, initiated his career as a Dharmagarh sub-collector. Over the years, he served as the collector in multiple districts. In 2011, he joined the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) and has held the role of private secretary to the Chief Minister for the last 12 years.
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
