By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: The high profile and expensive political entry of Tamil Nadu born former Odisha cadre IAS officer, VK Pandian, seems started shadowing legendary Biju Patnaik legacy in the Biju Janata Dal.
Just four days after VK Pandian joined BJD on November 27, a poster moving in and around Berhampur city in Ganjam, home turf of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and neighbouring Kandhamal , which carried photograph of BJD Supremo Naveen Patnaik and 5T-Nabin Odisha Chairman VK Pandian while the poster is studiedly missed photograph of legendary Biju Patnaik. BJD was formed after Biju Patnaik’s demise in 1997 and the regional party is ruling in the State since 2000 by politically using Biju ligancy.
The poster is missing the photograph of legendary Biju Patnaik, the man who was the morale behind BJD formation. The poster was released and installed by BJD’s Students and Young Wing of Berhampur City, Ganjam and Kandhamal.
Pandian’s rise was nothing new but such gesture to Biju Patnaik in the new political equation has sent a very wrong message among Biju lovers, sources said. It may be noted here that a day after taking VRS, he was appointed chairman of Nabin Odisha and Vision 5T, the state government’s flagship initiatives, with the rank of Cabinet Minister.
“With the guidance of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, I will work for the people of Odisha in a dedicated, humble and selfless manner,” VK Pandian had said after joining the BJD. Pandian had not uttered a single word about Biju Patnaik. Pandian joined the Chief Minister’s Office in 2011 and had since been Patnaik’s private secretary and he was mastermind behind expulsion of many Biju Patnaik loyalists from BJD.
During Pandian’s tenure as Private Secretary to CM Patnaik, BJD had shown the door to many Biju loyalists like Baijayant Jay Panda, Pradeep Panigrahi, Damodar Rout and many more.
With Pandian is likely to play a bigger role in BJD ahead of 2024 Assembly and Lok Sabha polls, the Regional party leaders and all its frontal wings have now started putting their weight behind VK Pandian and slowly undermining legendary Biju Patnaik and contribution of his Chief Minister son , Naveen Patanik, sources added.
With Patnaik getting older and feeble and no successor in prospect, Pandian has developed in stature to be the proverbial ‘Man Friday’ Naveen Patnaik. Now with Pandian joining BJD ahead of the 2024 assembly polls, have further fuelled rumour that he could indeed be the political successor to Naveen Patnaik.
