Following the regional party's loss in the latest polls, veteran bureaucrat and close aide to naveen patnaik V K Pandian declared on sunday that he was leaving politics, garnering condemnation even from the BJD rank and file. In addition to expressing regret for the party's defeat in the assembly and lok sabha elections, the former IAS officer, who spearheaded the BJD's campaign in the just-finished simultaneous elections despite being singled out by the bjp due to his tamil heritage, also expressed regret.
"I entered politics with the sole intention of helping naveen Babu, and I have now consciously chosen to step away from active politics." I apologize if the narrative that was used against me throughout the campaign contributed to Biju Janata Dal's defeat. In a video apology that was uploaded to his instagram page, Pandian said, "I apologise to the entire Biju Parivar, including all the karmis (workers) for this." It was his first time appearing in public after the disastrous BJD poll. The BJD lost 113 seats in 2019 and gained 51 seats in the odisha assembly as a result of the bjp winning 78 of the 147 seats available. BJD was likewise unable to secure any seats in the Lok Sabha.
The IAS officer, who was born in the 2000 batch and was appointed as naveen Patnaik's private secretary in the chief minister's office since 2011, voluntarily retired from the government in october of last year. He joined the BJD on november 27, one month later. Despite not holding a position, he was regarded as the second most powerful member of the party, after Patnaik. He had declared he would not be running for office in 2024. Given that Pandian declared at an election rally on May 10 that he would leave politics if Navin Patnaik did not take the oath of office as chief minister on june 9, his choice is significant. In response to the Prime Minister's june 10 predictions of a bjp government in odisha, he was speaking.
According to Pandian's video message, he joined the BJD in order to "assist his mentor" naveen patnaik in the run-up to the "gruelling election." He declared that he had zero desire for a particular position or authority. "All I wanted to do was support him, just like anyone would for a family member or mentor." I would like to correct certain misconceptions and myths. Maybe I haven't been able to successfully refute some of these political myths at the appropriate times, which has been my failure," Pandian added.
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