Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik's close aide VK Pandian joins BJD

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's close aide and former IAS officer V Karthikeyan Pandian on Monday formally joined the ruling Biju Janata Dal.

Pandian joined the regional party in the presence of the chief minister, state ministers, lawmakers and senior BJD leaders.

The 2000-batch IAS officer, who sparked several controversies and was accused of violating the service rule, had taken voluntary retirement from government service on October 23 this year.

He was later appointed as the chairman of the state's flagship 5T (transformational initiative) and Navin (new) Odisha scheme in the rank of cabinet minister to work directly under the chief minister.

Pandian began his bureaucratic career in 2002 as the sub-collector of Dharmagarh in Kalahandi district and was then posted as the collector of Mayurbhanj district in 2005. Later, he was appointed as the collector of Ganjam in 2007.

During his tenure in Ganjam, Pandian came close to the CM and served as his private secretary since 2011.

Apart from being the private secretary to the chief minister, Patnaik also gave him the additional responsibility of the '5T secretary' in 2019 to implement some transformational initiatives in government departments.