look news india
New Delhi, June 9 (HS). VK Pandian, a close aide of Odisha's caretaker Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, announced his retirement from active politics on Sunday. He announced this in a video message today after the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) suffered a crushing defeat in Odisha in the recently concluded Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. A day earlier, Patnaik had said that Pandian is not his political successor.
Pandian said that he came into politics only to support his mentor Naveen Patnaik. He had no other motive. He neither contested elections nor took any post in BJD but some such stories were created which we could not face. Due to this, the BJD family had to suffer losses. He apologizes to the public and the BJD family for this. The love of the people is the biggest asset he has.
BJP has won a big victory in the recent elections in Odisha. The main reason for this is believed to be Pandian taking over the political legacy of Naveen Patnaik. Pandian, a 2000 batch IAS officer, was Patnaik's personal secretary for more than two decades. After taking voluntary retirement in 2023, he joined the BJD.
Patnaik entered politics after the death of his father. First he was a minister at the centre and then the chief minister in the state. He was the chief minister of Odisha for 25 consecutive years.