The Nirvik Bureau, Bhubaneswar, 16 April 2025
All decks seem to have been cleared for the election of the new state executive of the BJD. The process is on and would be completed shortly.
It is a foregone conclusion that Naveen Patnaik would continue to be the party president, as has been the case since the formation of the BJD. But what would be interesting to see is the role that is going to be assigned to Sujata Rout Pandian. She took VRS recently and it is clear that it was a well thought out decision by her and the party. She is set to begin her political innings in a very important role within the BJD.
The rise of the Pandian couple on Odisha’s political horizon has been meteoric, especially in the period commencing from the beginning of Naveen Patnaik’s 5th term in 2019. The unexpected and shocking loss faced by the BJD in the 2024 polls temporarily diminished the political stature of the Pandian couple. But with carefully orchestrated moves like Karthikeyan Pandian’s ‘sanyas’ from ‘active’ politics on live media, Naveen Patnaik’s repeated support for Karthikeyan Pandian in the face of stiff opposition by many leaders and workers of BJD, Sujata Rout Pandian’s fast track VRS, election of pro-Pandian leaders as district presidents of the BJD, etc. clearly demonstrate that the Patnaik-Pandian path has been firmly and permanently laid.
While Karthikeyan Pandian may not immediately return to ‘active’ politics, his better half would pick up the family baton ably supported by her husband from backstage. The BJD family that was all about the Patnaik family has now got another family within the larger family – the Pandian family! Family politics has always been strong in Odisha and the Pandian family is set to become the newest political family to join the bandwagon!
The Patnaik-Pandian path adopted by the BJD may or may not succeed but would keep the people of Odisha glued to the media (and social media) for regular scoops and updates. The secret understanding between the BJP-BJD may help this new path reach a destination that is beneficial to both. In politics, there is more beneath the surface than what is visible. Hence, one can never be sure of anything till it actually happens. The next week is going to be an important chapter in the BJD’s history.
