VK Pandian, Naveen Patnaik's secretary, takes VRS but gets elevated by Odisha govt: All about the bureaucrat

V Karthikeyan Pandian, the most powerful bureaucrat in Odisha for over a decade, has taken voluntary retirement (VRS) but his stature has grown further in the corridors of power in the state. A 2000-batch IAS officer, Pandian served as the private secretary to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik since 2011. His VRS was cleared by the Centre on Monday.

A day after his VRS was approved, Pandian, who is close to the chief minister and has reportedly been assisting him on party affairs for years, was appointed the Chairman 5T (Transformational Initiatives) with the rank of Cabinet Minister. Sources told India Today that Pandian may join the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and may be given a significant role ahead of the assembly elections to be held early next year.

Who is VK Pandian?

Pandian rose to prominence as the close aide of the chief minister for his contribution to the governance as well as party affairs. He was brought into the chief minister's office at a time when Naveen Patnaik's relationship with then bureaucrat-turned-politician Pyarimohan Mohapatra began to sour. Patnaik relied heavily on Mohapatra, who was considered 'Chanakya' in the state's politics. Mohapatra's clout grew in the party, with some of the MLAs backing him for the top post. In 2012, Patnaik got to know about Mohapatra's alleged coup attempt when he was abroad. The chief minister suspended Mohapatra from the party. It was feared that the party may break but Pandian played a key role and managed the crisis for Patnaik. Since then there was no looking back for Pandian and his clout continues to grow even to this day.    

A native of Tamil Nadu, he began his bureaucratic career in 2002 as the sub-collector of Dharmagarh in Kalahandi district. He later bagged the National award from the President of India, for the rehabilitation of Public Works Departments (PWDs). It was then that the single window system for the empowerment of PWDs was taken up as a national model and was implemented throughout the country.

In 2005, Pandian was appointed the collector of the Mayurbhanj district, where his work was taken as an example of how the administration can work towards reducing the spread of Naxalism. Two years later, he was appointed the collector of Ganjam. As a collector in Ganjam, he received the National Award for Working for Persons with AIDS, from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Pandian has also received the National Award for NREGS twice for the best district in the country - Ganjam, given by the prime minister. It was under his leadership that the bank payment of wages in NREGS was first taken up in the Ganjam district, which was later taken up by the government of India for implementation in the entire country.

During his posting in Ganjam, Pandian became close to Patnaik. After Patnaik returned to power for the fifth time in 2019, Pandian was given the additional responsibility of the '5T secretary' to implement some transformational initiatives in government departments.

Odisha launched '5T' (Transparency, Teamwork, Technology, Time and Transformation) program, which is aimed at improving the efficiency, accountability, and responsiveness of the state's administration, is believed to be Pandian's brainchild.

Pandian's working style and closeness with Patnaik landed him into controversy many times, with the BJP and Congress complaining about the powers given to the bureaucrat. Recently, Pandian was under attack from the opposition for taking a tour of several districts using the state chopper. The opposition parties accused Pandian of violating service condition rules.

Recently, Pandian, on the instructions of Patnaik, reviewed the progress of the Srimandir Parikrama project, which is aimed at improving the experience of pilgrims. He also took up the renovation and restoration of ancient and revered temples throughout the state and helped the chief minister with the high school transformation project. Pandian is also credited to have transformed hospitals across Odisha.

Earlier, the BJP and Congress had asked him to resign and "officially join the BJD", after he went on a whirlwind tour across the state during which he held 190 meetings to hear public grievances. Senior Congress MLA SS Saluja welcomed Pandian's decision to take voluntary retirement and said he should have done it earlier.

BJP chief whip Mohan Majhi said now Pandian will be able to do politics openly instead of with the mask of a bureaucrat on. "He will not be accepted by the people of Odisha," he said.

Congress communication in-charge Jairam Ramesh said that Pandian has been a fine civil servant and helped Naveen Patnaik enormously. "But it is good that a de facto situation will finally become a de jure one, and Pandian will become a political figure in his own right," he said in a tweet. "It was a strange situation in Odisha for over a decade and a half with the CM being like an absentee landlord and his chief aide functioning as the state's CEO."