The chosen one

V.K. Pandian, who is being tipped as Naveen Patnaik's political heir, will have a more active role in administration after his voluntary retirement

- PRATUL SHARMA

FORMER BUREAUCRAT Wajahat Habibullah, while serving as director of the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie, called up his school friend, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, saying that he was sending to him a freshly-minted IAS officer, who also writes movie scripts, an interest they all shared. Tamil Nadu born V.K. Pandian was initially allotted the Punjab cadre. But when he got married to his batchmate, Sujata, who was from Odisha, Habibullah suggested an inter-cadre transfer, and Pandian got his first posting in 2002.

In his 21 years of service in Odisha under one of India's longest-serving chief ministers, Pandian, 49, has proven his mettle as an efficient administrator. In the last 12 years, he has worked directly with Patnaik, overseeing the development work in Odisha, and earning the chief minister's complete trust.

As Patnaik prepares to make a bid for his record sixth term in the 2024 assembly polls, which would make him India's longest-serving chief minister by next August, Pandian, too, is making an audacious career move by opting for voluntary retirement from the IAS. His application was cleared in a day by the Centre, waiving the mandatory notice period a rarity-as Patnaik is learnt to have intervened at the highest levels on his behalf. Pandian will now have a more active role in the administration, overseeing the 5T (Transformational Initiatives) and Nabin Odisha, a concept aimed at transforming the state.

Pandian is likely to join the Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal soon. The move has taken everyone by surprise, causing a political storm in the state known for its sober politics. Will Pandian be the political heir to 77-year-old Patnaik? This seems to have become the talking point across the state.