Naveen Patnaik's Close Aide VK Pandian Announces Retirement From Active Politics After Poll Debacle

Bhubaneswar: Former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's close aide VK Pandian announced retirement from active politics on Sunday, June 9. Bureaucrat-turned-politician VK Pandian announced his decision by releasing a video message after the regional party’s defeat in the Lok Sabha and assembly polls.

Pandian had been receiving criticism after the Biju Janata Dal received an embarrassing defeat in the just-concluded elections. However, Pandian's announcement came a day after Naveen Patnaik clarified that he was not his political successor. 

Announcing his retirement, VK Pandian said, “Now consciously I decide to withdraw myself from active politics. I am sorry if I have hurt anyone on this journey. I am sorry if this campaign narrative against me has had a part to play in BJD's loss.” 

Earlier on May 10, Pandian had said that he would quit politics if BJD fails to win the upcoming Odisha assembly polls.

BJD's Embarrassing Loss in Odisha 

 Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal bagged 51 seats in the just-concluded Odisha assembly polls.  The BJP stormed to power in Odisha, ending the 24-year rule of the BJD, by winning 78 seats in the 147-member assembly. While the Congress could win just 14 constituencies, the CPI (M) one. Three Independent nominees also emerged victorious. 

In the Lok Sabha polls, the BJD failed to win any of the Lok Sabha seats in the state, with the BJP bagging 20 and the Congress one. Lok Sabha polls and assembly elections were held simultaneously in Odisha. 

What Naveen Patnaik Said on Pandian

BJD supremo and former Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday said criticism of Pandian for the party's debacle was "unfortunate" and asserted that he did an "excellent job". The five-term chief minister, however, in the same breath, reiterated that Pandian was not his successor and that the people of Odisha would decide who his successor would be.

"He (Pandian) is a person of integrity and honesty and should be remembered for that," Patnaik said amid widespread resentment among the party leaders and workers, who blamed the bureaucrat-turned-politicians from Tamil Nadu, for the party's poor showing in the elections.