N R MOHANTY
I reached Bhubaneswar on 29th January, the day the World Cup Hockey final was being played between Germany and Belgium in the fabled Kalinga Stadium of the city. As I stepped into a taxi in the evening, I could see the city of Bhubaneswar wearing a festive look; the roads were festooned with lights, arches, insignia, what not. I asked the taxi driver, just to strike a conversation, if he was happy with Naveen’s Odisha. His prompt reply flummoxed me: “It is not Naveen’s Odisha; good, bad or ugly, ours is Pandian’s Odisha.” I knew who Pandian was, but I didn’t expect such a curt reply from a taxi driver. This response set me thinking: if a taxi driver says this, then it must be common knowledge that when it comes to brass tacks, it is Pandian who is ruling the roost in Odisha.
Who is this Pandian? He is a 2001 batch IAS officer who is supposedly the eyes and ears of the Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik. He issues directions on behalf of the Chief Minister to the Secretaries, and even Chief Secretary, who may be 10 to 15 years senior to him as an IAS officer. Pandian exercises so much preponderant influence that, I am told, hierarchies in the state government have gone completely haywire.
A close relative of mine, who happens to be a well-networked entrepreneur based in Bhubaneswar, told me this: he wanted the time limit of a government project he was to finish to be extended by a couple of months, but the MD of the public sector organisation had turned against him for some reasons; the MD had made it clear to him that extension would not be granted. My relative approached the Secretary of the department who spoke to the MD; but nothing moved. This MD did not even oblige when the Chief Secretary personally told him that it was a legitimate request and he should grant it. Finally, my kin found a link to meet Pandian. Pandian spoke to the MD and within an hour, the notice was issued. This may be an anecdotal evidence, but it is now institutionally ingrained that the last word in the administration is that of Pandian, who is the gatekeeper to the Chief Minister, a Chief Minister to whom apparently no other senior official in the government machinery has any access. V K Pandian, I am told, is truly the Super Chief Minister of the state!
The next question in my mind was: if Pandian’s extra-constitutional authority is a given, how is it being exercised? Is it benign, malign or indifferent? Is Pandian exercising his enormous influence for the benefit of the state or for the sake of a coterie? I spoke to a variety of people — from those in the government to those who are in public life — to find an answer. The overwhelming impression I got is that Pandian is a doer, that he is a 16-hour-at-work-man. If an inspection has to be made at 6 am, he is the first to reach. It is just not that Pandian just works hard; he is smart at work. He ensures that projects are completed on time and the desired quality is maintained. Another attribute of Pandian many senior officers invariably vouched: he is not overbearing; he speaks to his seniors with respect; he is not given to throwing his weight around.
But then there are no dearth of critics as well; some say that Pandian is the one-point contact for the moneybags seeking access to the administration. That the Biju Janata Dal is able to outspend even the BJP in the combined assembly and Lok Sabha elections is a fact and the larger credit for it goes to Pandian who marshals resources for the ruling party of the state, they say. That explains why Pandian today is the most powerful man after the Chief Minister, goes the argument.
I am reminded of a parallel example in Bihar: RCP Singh, an IAS officer, wormed into the heart of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and became the most powerful bureaucrat in the state. It was then public knowledge that RCP was tasked with generating large resources for the election expenses of Nitish’s JDU. He did that successfully; he was rewarded, he was brought into politics, became an MP and a Minister. Will Pandian be RCP of Odisha? There is a difference; RCP belonged to Bihar, in fact, he hailed from Nitish’s native Nalanda. Pandian is a Tamilian. But then there is a saving grace for him; Pandian is married to an Odia IAS officer, Sujata Raut. The speculation is rife that Sujata will resign from service and plunge into politics during the forthcoming 2024 elections. Interesting possibilities!
(Courtesy: Facebook wall of Nalini Ranjan Mohanty, senior journalist based in Noida)
