Pandian will continue to work for state as member of party: CM Naveen Patnaik

BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik welcomed former Bureaucrat V K Pandian to the Biju Janata Dal on Monday and said that he will continue his work as a member of the party.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said, "I welcome V K Pandian to the BJD. As all of you know he had worked very hard since several years for the people of our state and he will continue to do so as a member of the party with dedication. I wish him all the best."

Former Bureaucrat V K Pandian stated that he would work for the party with dedication and selfless service. Senior BJD leader and Lok Sabha MP Pinaki Misra said, "We are very happy that Kartik babu has decided to join the party. As CM Naveen Patnaik stated he has vast administrative experience, vast political experience so he would be an asset to the party. Everyone is very happy to have him among us to work hard to make Naveen Patnaik CM for the sixth time." He further stated that the BJP is poised to sweep the elections.

Former MP, Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo said, "V K Pandian earlier used to work for the state as an IAS officer. Now he has joined the party. He will work for the development of the state. This is good for the party and Odisha." MLA Snehangini Chhuria said Karthikeyan Pandian was earlier PS to the CM, then he became the Chairman of Naveen Odisha and on the holy occasion of Kartik Purnima he joined the party.

"This is a good development for the state. He has given 12 years of selfless service to the people of the state. He has transformed the vision of CM Naveen Patnaik into policy decision. He will be an asset to the party. He has all the survey reports and he knows the people of the state very well. He will work for the people," she added.

In October this year, VK Pandian was appointed as chairman of 5T (Transformational Initiative) and 'Nabin Odisha' in the rank of Cabinet Minister under the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik-led government. This came a day after the Centre approved the voluntary retirement of the IAS officer, who had been serving as private secretary to the Odisha Chief Minister. VK Pandian is a 2000-batch Odisha cadre IAS officer.

He started his career as a civil servant as a sub-collector in Dharmagarh, located in Kalahandi district. Pandian subsequently served as a collector in the Mayurbhanj and Ganjam districts before transitioning to his role in the Chief Minister's office. In the last 10 years since joining, Pandian has played a key role in many crucial decisions of the Patnaik government.