Pandian’s ascent

At a packed gathering in a Bhubaneswar hotel this summer, a diminutive speaker took the stage with a flair belying his otherwise reticent demeanour.

Delivering a gushing tribute to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was the newest star of Odisha politics -- VK Pandian, a man who has the CM’s ear and is widely believed to be his heir apparent. A career bureaucrat born in Tamil Nadu, Pandian has recently resigned from the IAS to plunge openly in the service of Patnaik and his political party, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), which has been in power in Odisha for the last over two decades.

Drawing Inspiration

It is a relationship seeped into functioning style of Patnaik, who has negotiated Odisha’s fractious politics with ease. This is a style honed over decades since he joined the rough and tumble of politics as an outsider, a jet-setting sophisticate, who was more comfortable hosting Jacqueline Kennedy and international celebrities like Mick Jagger, than carrying on the legacy of his father, the socialist leader and former CM Biju Patnaik.

The genesis of Pandian’s current status is in the way Patnaik conducted his affairs since the beginning – through a go-between, a confidant, who would act as a bridge between him and the party. In the beginning, it was Pyarimohan Mohapatra, a retired bureaucrat who was personal secretary to Biju Patnaik, whom Naveen Patnaik adopted both as a mentor and a handyman as he won his first election and became CM in 2000.

Found His Calling

In a coup Mohapatra staged against Patnaik, who was in London at the time, he collected party MLAs and let it be known that he is in charge. But the bid to overthrow Patnaik failed when only a handful of the total 104 MLAs supported Mohapatra. Patnaik returned from London to assume control of the party t and branded his once trusted mentor as a “backstabber”.

Pyarimohan’s departure left a large gap in Patnaik’s governance machinery. But it had already started getting filled by a young collector from Patnaik’s home district Ganjam, where he had shown a rare connect with people and innovation with executing government policies. Young, efficient and in awe of Patnaik, Pandian had eased into the CM’s office as his private secretary in 2011.

Filling In Big Shoes

His absolute devotion to Patnaik made Pandian the perfect choice to fill the gap Pyarimohan had left behind. In the beginning, it was marshalling the administration to complete initiatives like hosting the Asian Athletics Championships in just 90 days to two successive hockey men’s world cups and international football events that have led to a recognition of Odisha as a sports hub. Till 2019, Pandianworked behind the scenes; his hold over the administration and being the CM’s confidant known only to top bureaucrats and party office-bearers. However, the day after the BJP swept to power in 2019, a photograph appeared in social media of a smiling Patnaik seated in his home with Pandian standing behind him. The bureaucrat was now firmly in the public eye. His authority ranged from the secretariat to Naveen Niwas, in the proximity of the CM, who trusts him with almost all administrative and political matters.

According to former MP and a founder member of the BJD, Baijyant Panda, who is now in the BJP as its national Vice President, this is “bizarre”.

“It is a good thing that Mr. Pandian has resigned from service. A de facto position now becomes de jure. At least he will have to face the same scrutiny that we all face as politicians,” Panda told businessline.

Panda, who worked closely with Patnaik in his first two tenures, said the power that Pandian has wielded for the last nine years is unprecedented.

It is near certain now that he would be the real power if Naveen Patnaik is voted as CM again in the Assembly elections next year. Whether the BJD will survive this succession is a question for the future.