VK Pandian
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A brief biography
Oct 31, 2023: The Times of India
VK Pandian — the former private secretary to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik — has been given a cabinet minister rank in the state government, a day after his request for voluntary retirement was approved. Here’s why his rise has created a storm in the state
When VK Pandian, then secretary of 5T — the Odisha government’s five pronged initiative (teamwork, technology, transparency, transformation and time limit) to decide the performance of government officials and project execution — embarked on a two-day visit to Mayurbhanj district on March 2 this year, it appeared rather routine to political observers and the general public. However, as he continued his tours to Sundargarh and Nabarangpur later in the same month, attracting larger crowds and entailing more extravagant arrangements, a sense of something significant began to emerge.By September 1, the 49-year-old had completed trips to all 147 assembly constituencies and the people's response to his visits started being closely monitored. Political rivals also began to take note and show signs of unease. As was widely anticipated by then, Pandian subsequently resigned from his IAS job and assumed leadership of the state’s two flagship programmes and was elevated to a cabinet minister’s rank. He also became the chairman of 5T initiatives and Nabin Odisha. His eventual joining of the Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and taking on an even more prominent role now seems only a matter of time.
Early daysPandian’s elevation to a cabinet minister’s rank has been strategically timed ahead of 2024’s simultaneous Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections in which Pandian will play a crucial role, BJD insiders say. After testing people’s response to Pandian’s visits to all the 147 assembly seats between March and September, CM Naveen Patnaik has crafted him for a political role.Tamil Nadu-born Pandian’s tryst with the state began in 2000, the year Patnaik became chief minister of Odisha for the first time. As an IAS officer, he was initially allotted the Punjab cadre. However, barely a few months into the training, he got his cadre changed to Odisha after marrying Sujata Rout — now Sujata R Karthikeyan — another IAS officer of the same batch with the Odisha cadre. Sujata hails from a village in Kendrapara district of Odisha and is currently secretary of the state’s Mission Shakti department.
In his initial days as a bureaucrat, when Pandian was sub-collector of Dharamgarh in poverty stricken district of Kalahandi, in 2002, he drew attention by taking rice millers to task for irregularities in paddy procurement. Soon, he was credited for streamlining the paddy procurement business. In 2005, as collector of Mayurbhanj, he won acclaim for being awarded the National Award for rehabilitation of persons with disabilities (PWDs) by the President of India. The single-window system for empowerment of PWDs, introduced by him, was subsequently taken as a national model and implemented throughout the country.His career, however, got its biggest boost after he became the collector of Ganjam, Naveen Patnaik’s home district, in 2007. Here, he received the National Award for working for persons living with HIV/AIDS and National Award for transparent and efficient implementation of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) twice.
In fact, bank payment of wages in NREGS — first taken up under his leadership in Ganjam district — was later implemented in the entire country. From there, he was handpicked by Patnaik to become his private secretary in 2011. He has since remained in the chief minister's office (CMO) and is known to be one of Naveen Patnaik’s most trusted lieutenants over the years.Inner circleNaveen Patnaik’s faith in Pandian strengthened particularly after Pyarimohan Mohapatra — a retired IAS officer turned Rajya Sabha member and once his close associate — launched an unsuccessful coup to dislodge him in May 2012. That is when the CM came to fully depend on Pandian.Since then he has played a leading role in designing campaigns that have benefited the BJD politically. Post 2019 general elections, he rose to become the top bureaucrat in the CMO as 5T secretary. By now, most of the government departments have been brought under 5T.
Nabin Odisha — short for Ama Odisha, Nabin Odisha, the other initiative that Pandian will directly supervise now — is a ₹3,397 crore initiative to promote Jagannath culture and improve digital infrastructure in villages, which was launched by the CM earlier this month. The government plans to complete over 90,000 projects of renovating places of worship in villages, build science parks and provide internet connectivity by spending around ₹50 lakh in each over 6,700 panchayats, under the scheme.Much like the CM, who maintains a simple appearance by donning loose-fitting white kurta pajama and slippers when in public, Pandian has also recently adopted a distinctive style, often seen in slippers, an untucked full-sleeve white shirt and predominantly grey trousers, without a belt. Over the past few years, he has also cultivated a unique routine of evaluating ongoing infrastructure projects during the wee hours of the morning, typically commencing around 4am. By the time most people are starting their day he has already completed his review of major projects.Man of the momentPeople who know Pandian — an MSc degree in plant physiology — swear by his faith in Lord Jagannath in Puri, which he frequently visits. Which is why it’s no surprise that he has been personally monitoring the progress of the ambitious Sri Mandir Parikrama Project that is meant to transform Jagannath abode, Puri, into a world-class city as announced by Naveen Patnaik days after returning as CM for the fifth uninterrupted term in 2019. A parallel is being drawn between the Puri heritage project with the Kashi Vishwanath project in Uttar Pradesh in its idea and scope.Pandian’s extensively publicised state tours, which served as a prelude to his departure from the all-India service, exposed him to a multitude of both positive and negative experiences, quite uncommon for a bureaucrat. While a man expressed his dissent by throwing ink on his face during a visit to Puri district, onlookers were surprised to witness some women rushing to assist him in wiping the ink away. The opposition parties, too, have trained their focus on Pandian.
While the opposition parties have described Pandian’s district tours as bureaucratic overreach, the chief minister has vigorously defended it on the floor in September saying it was his brainchild to resolve people’s grievances at their doorsteps. In the grand scheme of things, Pandian is clearly the CM’s chosen man.
