LAGATAR24 DESK
Bhuvaneshwar, Oct 25: Just four days after he applied for voluntary retirement from the Indian Administrative Services, former Odisha cadre IAS officer V Karthikeyan Pandian has been appointed to a Cabinet rank position directly reporting to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik, reports The Quint.
Pandian has been given charge of the 5T or Five Transformational Initiatives and the Nabin Odisha scheme.
The 5T is an overall approach to governance in Odisha laid down by Patnaik that entails: “transparency, teamwork, technology and timeliness leading to transformation”. Pandian was already the secretary in-charge for 5T before he took VRS.
The Ama Odisha, Nabin Odisha (Our Odisha, New Odisha) scheme is aimed at building infrastructure in villages through the Panchayats and making them units for the promotion of Lord Jagannath’s culture.
By being made a cabinet rank official responsible for both these key initiatives, Pandian would now have power over all government departments. Does the new appointment mean Pandian is now Patnaik’s successor?
Who Is VK Pandian?
Born in 1974, V Karthikeyan Pandian is originally from Madurai district in Tamil Nadu. He is reported to have done his schooling at the Neyveli Sports Hostel, set up by the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu. He is known to have been a keen sportsperson in school. This was a formative experience for him as years later he is said to have spearheaded Odisha’s push towards sports, especially the promotion of hockey.
Pandian is known to be a fitness freak even now and is said to wake up at 4 AM to begin his exercise regimen.
After his schooling, Pandian returned to Madurai and did his BSc in agriculture from the Agriculture College and Research Institute in Madurai after which he moved to Delhi for his post graduation from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in Delhi.
He cleared the UPSC examination and became an Odisha cadre IAS officer in 2000. Coincidentally, this was the same year that Naveen Patnaik took over as the chief minister of Odisha, a position that he holds till date.
Pandian’s first posting was as sub-collector of Dharamgarh in Kalahandi district. According to a CMO press release, Pandian streamlined paddy procurement during his tenure.
His first assignment as collector was in tribal-concentration Mayurbhanj district in 2005.
His most crucial assignment as a young IAS officer was as collector of Ganjam between 2007 and 2011. It was here that he caught the attention of CM Naveen Patnaik.
Ganjam is a VIP district as it includes Patnaik’s Assembly constituency Hinjili and his erstwhile Lok Sabha constituency Aska. According to the CMO release, Ganjam received an award twice for the best implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act during Pandian’s collector tenure.
Impressed by Pandian’s work in Ganjam, Patnaik took him into the CMO in 2011.
What Makes Pandian Important to Naveen Patnaik?
The backstory which made VK Pandian Naveen Patnaik’s most trusted aide, lies in 2012. Though in the CMO and rising up the ranks, Pandian was still a relatively junior bureaucrat at that time.
Calling the shots at that time was another former IAS officer – Pyari Mohan Mohapatra. Mohapatra used to be principal secretary to Naveen Patnaik’s father Biju Patnaik when he was the CM. Biju Patnaik brought Mohapatra into politics and after his death, Mohapatra became a mentor-like figure to his son Naveen Patnaik.
It is said that Patnaik couldn’t read or write Odia properly and it was Mohapatra who acted as the bridge between him and the government as well as the party.
In 2012, Naveen Patnaik was away in London for what was his first trip abroad as CM, when Mohapatra attempted a coup with a section of party leaders and allegedly the Congress.
The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) had 104 MLAs in the 144-member Assembly. But Mohapatra could manage the support of only a little over 30. It is said that it was Pandian who managed to take control of a majority of MLAs and ministers and prevented Mohapatra from winning them over.
Pandian helped Patnaik quell what was his toughest challenge yet from within the party. This sealed Pandian’s place as Patnaik’s most trusted aide.
Being a serving IAS officer, not a former IAS officer like Mohapatra, as well as a non-Odia, Pandian could never be a threat to Patnaik and this assured the latter of his complete loyalty.
Pandian, on his part, also recognises that the power he wields stems from Patnaik and Patnaik alone. He has made it a point to instinctively know what Patnaik would want in a given situation and to defend to CM’s interests at any cost.
