Pandian seems set to make an entry into politics, though no one is quite sure about the possibility of his contesting elections.
Karthikeyan Pandian inspecting plans near the Puri Jagannath temple. (Supplied)
From being state’s most powerful bureaucrat to someone with a Cabinet minister’s rank and a portfolio comprising Odisha government’s two most vital schemes — this was a coup only V Karthikeyan Pandian could have pulled off.
The possibility of this Tamil Nadu-born 2000-batch IAS officer availing the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) to serve his boss, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, full-time was being discussed in the state’s political circles for some time now, but it had a stunning effect when it actually happened.
The surprise was on account of two reasons: One, the alacrity with which his VRS application was accepted by the Union government (it took just three days), and the other was his immediate appointment as chairman 5T (Transformational Initiatives), a governance reform initiative, and Nabin Odisha, a newly-launched rural development scheme, with a Cabinet rank.
Most people had thought that Pandian, who had been chief minister’s eyes and ears in his capacity as his private secretary since 2011, would prefer to maintain a low profile instead of making headline-hogging moves. But he has proved everyone wrong.
Apparently with the consent of his bachelor boss, who turned 77 earlier this month, Pandian seems set to make an entry into politics, though no one is quite sure about the possibility of his contesting elections.
“Pandian may join the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the party led by his boss. That could be his first step into politics. Other things will follow,” Congress veteran and former MLA Lalatendu Mohapatra told South First.
According to most political observers, Pandian’s trapeze act has brought the issue of Patnaik’s political successor back into focus. Every time the issue was raised in the past, the stock reply of the chief minister was that when the time comes people would choose their own leader.
The chief minister was perhaps being evasive because he had not found someone he could fully trust. His search seems to have ended with Pandian whom he is likely to groom as his successor now.
“For the last 12 years Pandian has been Patnaik’s eyes and ears, his most trusted aide. Though born in Tamil Nadu, Pandian has a strong Odisha connection. His wife Sujata Karthikeyan nee Rout happens to be an Odia. He has every right to call himself the son-in-law of Odisha,” a BJD leader, who did not wish to be identified, told South First.
Being the “son-in-law of Odisha” will help neutralise the “outsider” tag that Pandian carries because of his Tamil Nadu origin. This, even his political opponents agree, will facilitate his formal entry into politics.
“The most important factor working in his favour is that he enjoys the blessings of the chief minister. If Naveen babu wants him to take the political plunge and succeed him, no one can stop him,” said Lalatendu Mohapatra.
Being a non-Odia should not become a hurdle in the way of Pandian’s political ambitions for, unlike his boss, he speaks fluent Odia and has been interacting with people in the language almost daily.
Besides, there are examples of non-Odias doing well in the politics of the state which had a Bengali chief minister in Biren Mitra from 1963 to 1965.
“The most important thing is that Pandian draws his power straight from his boss Naveen Patnaik. That settles the issue,” said Mohapatra.
While former minister Ganeswar Behera thinks that Pandian would enter politics in order to legitimise the enormous powers he enjoys because of his closeness to the chief minister, former state BJP president Samir Mohanty finds the timing of the former bureaucrat’s VRS significant.
“It comes ahead of the general elections. The gameplan is clear. Now Pandian will openly manage the elections for the Biju Janata Dal with full sanction of the chief minister. He will now be running both the government and the BJD,” Mohanty told South First.
The BJP veteran also feels that by taking VRS, Pandian has silenced his critics like former BJD MLA and media baron Soumya Ranjan Patnaik who had questioned his visits to districts using the state helicopter.
Ever since being appointed Naveen Patnaik’s private secretary Pandian has clung to him like his shadow. Sources in the BJD said that the ace bureaucrat was, for all practical purposes, proxy to the chief minister, taking decisions both in the government and the party.
No one ever questioned him and the ones, like Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, who committed this “cardinal sin” were quickly shown the door.
Pandian began his career as a bureaucrat in Odisha as the sub-collector of Dharamgarh in Kalahandi, once considered to be one of the most backward areas of the country. Making some bold moves he ensured the development of the area.
He had an equally satisfying stint as the collector of tribal-dominated Mayurbhanj district.
However, it was his tenure as the collector of Ganjam, the district that Naveen Patnaik hails from, that brought him to the chief minister’s notice.
Pandian ramped up the pace of work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in Ganjam which was till then notorious for migration of labour. He also took innovative and bold steps like transfer of wages of labourers to their bank accounts. This eliminated the possibility of corruption.
Impressed by his dynamism, the chief minister appointed him as his private secretary in 2011 and, in 2019, he was given the additional responsibility of secretary, 5T ( (Teamwork, Technology, Transparency, Transformation and Time limit), a governance reform initiative aimed at promoting transparency and efficiency.
Pandian’s wife Sujata leads the newly-created Department of Mission Shakti which aims at making women economically self-dependent. More than 70 lakh women, organised under six lakh self-help groups (SHGs) are being supported by the department.
They constitute a vote-bank crucial to the political fortunes of Patnaik. They will be equally useful for Pandian as and when he decides to take the political plunge.
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