Naveen Patnaik’s powerful private secretary: V K Pandian, Odisha officer in a growing, unofficial, role (2024)

On May 31, 2019, two days after Naveen Patnaik took oath as Chief Minister of Odisha for the fifth time, a photo appeared on social media of a smiling Patnaik seated at his residence Naveen Niwas, with V K Pandian standing behind his chair.

For many in the state, it was their first glimpse of Patnaik’s powerful private secretary, a man who had spent years by the CM’s side, but always out of the frame. That day, it was the CMO itself that put out the photo, while Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leaders shared it, hailing Patnaik as much as Pandian for the party’s return to power.

Four years later, the picture is upside down. As Patnaik largely retreats from public appearances, Pandian has been touring the state on the CM’s behalf — unaffected by the Opposition’s protests. The camera-shy officer has given way to one who takes along his own camera crew, to ensure no key moment goes uncaptured. On Instagram, the only social media platform the 2000-batch IAS officer is known to be on, he now has 1 million followers.

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Naveen Patnaik’s powerful private secretary: V K Pandian, Odisha officer in a growing, unofficial, role (1) Pandian was a prominent presence when West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and her Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar met Patnaik this year. (Odisha CMO)

On a rainy morning, there is a crowd waiting for Pandian at Talabania helipad in Puri town. As the officer’s helicopter lands, an excited 45-year-old Purnamasi Behera from Jaguleipadar village gushes: “Ebe ame nischaya khusi khabar paibu (Now we will surely get some good news).”

Behera is a member of a self-help group (SHG) in Puri district, and many like her are gathered at Talabania with their demands, hoping to catch Pandian’s attention.

Pandian disembarks, dressed in his trademark white shirt and trousers, and walks towards the crowds waving, flanked by security personnel and district officials. The women break out in ululations as part of the welcome, while some rush forward to take a selfie or shake hands with Pandian, or to hand him sheets with their grievances.

Behera says: “Pandian sir has come here to motivate us for our good work. Women like me would sit at home doing nothing. But Mission Shakti empowered us. We now earn and run our families. We hope sir will announce more benefits for us.”

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As part of her 13-member Maa Kalijai SHG, Behera earns around Rs 20,000 a month making incense sticks. The SHG has paid off its Rs 4.5 lakh loan, and hopes to get a new one to procure more machines.

As the BJD guns for power in Odisha again, Mission Shakti — empowering rural women with livelihood opportunities, through loans of up to Rs 5 lakh — is one of the biggest weapons in its arsenal. Around 70 lakh rural women are part of six lakh SHG groups across the state — more than one per village on an average — under the initiative, making up a loyal BJD support base.

Naveen Patnaik’s powerful private secretary: V K Pandian, Odisha officer in a growing, unofficial, role (3) VK Pandian – Patnaik’s powerful private secretary

The architect of other such Odisha government schemes, Pandian understands this, and focuses on SHGs in his speech. (Pandian’s wife Sujata R Karthikeyan, also an IAS officer of 2000-batch, is Secretary, Mission Shakti Department.) The speech is delivered from a dais that Pandian occupies alone, now a routine at his public appearances. He talks about SHGs availing a total of Rs 11,300 crore as bank loans, of which Rs 680 crore was availed by SHGs in Puri district alone. His claim that the CM would upgrade the SHGs to SMEs (small and medium enterprises) earns huge applause.

Pandian then recalls an anecdote, from a recent visit to Balangir, and a meeting with the SHG federation president of the Khaprakhol block who has been associated with Mission Shakti since 2002. “Her son is now an IAF pilot, while her daughter works as a software engineer in Bengaluru. Don’t underestimate yourself… You play a crucial role in the development of society. If you earn, you can give better education to your children, help them realise their dreams,” says Pandian.

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A few women in the audience record his speech on their mobile phones.

Pandian heads next to a gathering of college students. The administration has been facilitating visits of hundreds of students for such interactions, where T-shirts emblazoned with the message ‘Odisha on the move’ are handed out.

Pandian here pitches an initiative — 5T — for which he is directly credited, the Ts standing for ‘t’ransparency, ‘t’eamwork, ‘t’echnology and ‘t’ime, leading to ‘t’ransformation. Under it, the Patnaik government claims to have transformed over 4,000 high schools in Odisha, with refurbished classrooms, laboratories and playgrounds.

Pandian announces funds for “transformation” of all colleges under 5T.

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Naveen Patnaik’s powerful private secretary: V K Pandian, Odisha officer in a growing, unofficial, role (4) Under its 5T initiative, which is Pandian’s brainchild, the government claims to have transformed over 4,000 high schools in Odisha, with refurbished classrooms, laboratories and playgrounds. (Odisha CMO)

A recent video of Pandian’s interaction with students went viral where he is seen narrating his journey from a small Tamil Nadu village to becoming an IAS officer. He talks about cycling around 20 km to college, and exhorts students to work hard for these few years “to be happy for the remaining 50 years in life”.

Known to be a fitness freak, he often joins students in a game.

Another scheme Pandian has been pushing during his visit to districts is redevelopment of shrines, places with historical significance and birth places of eminent Odia personalities. A follow-up announcement of funds for the same by the CM comes usually days after.

An officer as a star

An outsider to the nitty-gritty of politics and particularly Odisha when he first came to power, Naveen Patnaik has from the start handpicked trusted officials to help him with running the state. During his 23 years in power, several have been known to be close to him.

None, however, has enjoyed the status Pandian does.

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Originally from Tamil Nadu but belonging to the Odisha cadre of the IAS, Pandian made his mark as collector of the state’s larger districts, such as Mayurbhanj and Ganjam, which is Patnaik’s home district. This is believed to have drawn Patnaik’s attention to Pandian, and by May 2011, he found himself in the CM’s office as his private secretary.

Pandian has continued in the post since, never even going for Central deputation unlike other colleagues.

What eased Pandian’s entry into Patnaik’s inner sanctum was the falling out between the CM and Pyarimohan Mohapatra, an IAS officer turned politician turned key advisor, around 2012. He was removed from the party following an alleged coup attempt on May 29, 2012, while Patnaik was away in London along with Pandian. It was Patnaik’s first foreign tour since he became CM 12 years earlier.

Many feared the BJD would slip out of Patnaik’s hands given the clout Mohapatra wielded in the party. But Patnaik again surprised the doomsayers, and one reason was Pandian stepping into Mohapatra’s shoes.

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Officers in the state are reluctant to talk about the powerful bureaucrat. Among the few who do, on the condition of anonymity, a senior government officer says: “There is no doubt that Pandian is very hardworking and delivers on key responsibilities, helping him win the confidence of the CM. He has played a crucial role in various crises. Some of the successful schemes which make Naveen popular as a pro-people leader are Pandian’s brainchild.”

Still, it was not until 2019 — when Naveen took oath for the fifth time, on Pandian’s birthday incidentally, and that photo of the CM and his private secretary smiling into the camera came out — did most of the world know of the man.

The 5T scheme that followed soon after was acknowledged as Pandian’s baby, and touted as an initiative that would “overhaul” the administrative apparatus. Then came ‘Mo Sarkar’ — a scheme to bring the government to the people’s doorsteps.

It was Pandian who briefed senior officers on the two schemes in presence of the CM about four years back. “In a democracy, every institution exists for the sake of the people. We draw power from the people, we draw money from the people and we exist for the purpose of serving the people… So, it’s basically the citizen’s government… That’s why their satisfaction is very important,” he said.

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Key services and projects of almost all departments are now covered under 5T, which is directly supervised by Pandian and his team at the Chief Minister’s Office.

Come Covid, Pandian took the lead in updating the state’s healthcare facilities and was seen by the CM’s side during meetings held virtually. Odisha was among the few states that provided free treatment to all in state-run Covid care centres.

The recent infrastructure push by the BJD government also bears Pandian’s fingerprints, particularly in the Rs 3,200 crore development of Puri. The CMO has been sharing photos of Pandian with senior bureaucrats at the site before dawn, doing a review.

Lately, Pandian has been seen with Patnaik on outstation tours, with photos shared by the CMO focusing on both.

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Naveen Patnaik’s powerful private secretary: V K Pandian, Odisha officer in a growing, unofficial, role (6)

According to a bureaucrat, some successful schemes that make CM Patnaik popular as a pro-people leader are actually Pandian’s brainchild. (Odisha CMO)

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Naveen Patnaik’s powerful private secretary: V K Pandian, Odisha officer in a growing, unofficial, role (8)

According to a bureaucrat, some successful schemes that make CM Patnaik popular as a pro-people leader are actually Pandian’s brainchild. (Odisha CMO)

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Naveen Patnaik’s powerful private secretary: V K Pandian, Odisha officer in a growing, unofficial, role (10)

According to a bureaucrat, some successful schemes that make CM Patnaik popular as a pro-people leader are actually Pandian’s brainchild. (Odisha CMO)

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Naveen Patnaik’s powerful private secretary: V K Pandian, Odisha officer in a growing, unofficial, role (12)

According to a bureaucrat, some successful schemes that make CM Patnaik popular as a pro-people leader are actually Pandian’s brainchild. (Odisha CMO)

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Naveen Patnaik’s powerful private secretary: V K Pandian, Odisha officer in a growing, unofficial, role (14)

According to a bureaucrat, some successful schemes that make CM Patnaik popular as a pro-people leader are actually Pandian’s brainchild. (Odisha CMO)

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Naveen Patnaik’s powerful private secretary: V K Pandian, Odisha officer in a growing, unofficial, role (16)

According to a bureaucrat, some successful schemes that make CM Patnaik popular as a pro-people leader are actually Pandian’s brainchild. (Odisha CMO)

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Naveen Patnaik’s powerful private secretary: V K Pandian, Odisha officer in a growing, unofficial, role (18)

According to a bureaucrat, some successful schemes that make CM Patnaik popular as a pro-people leader are actually Pandian’s brainchild. (Odisha CMO)

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Naveen Patnaik’s powerful private secretary: V K Pandian, Odisha officer in a growing, unofficial, role (20)

According to a bureaucrat, some successful schemes that make CM Patnaik popular as a pro-people leader are actually Pandian’s brainchild. (Odisha CMO)

When visiting Bihar CM Nitish Kumar met Patnaik in May this year, Pandian was there. He was also a prominent presence when West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee called on Naveen.

Opposition’s target

The Opposition, which has been closely watching Pandian’s district visits, has started organising protests at his halts. The BJP’s Bhubaneswar MP and one of its national spokespersons, Aparajita Sarangi, who is also an IAS officer-turned-politician, asked Patnaik whether “a Secretary-level officer” was attending public meetings with his permission.

Sarangi as well as Congress leader Bijay Patnaik have filed separate petitions to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) accusing Pandian of violating service conduct rules.

Addressing a rally in Kalahandi district in June, BJP national president J P Nadda said the administration in Odisha had been “outsourced to bureaucracy”.

Some BJD leaders too are not too happy with Pandian’s rising graph. There was a strong backlash after editor-politician Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, in editorial columns in his publication, questioned Pandian’s “chopper ride” to districts to attend grievance meetings, putting their cost at around Rs 300 crore.

Also read | Out of the backroom: Naveen Patnaik’s private secy takes a public role, holds rallies

The Opposition has also slammed the 5T initiative as detrimental to collective decision-making. “A parallel system has been created. The dignity of offices of the chief secretary, development commissioner and department secretaries has been demeaned,” former Odisha chief secretary and Congress leader Bijay Patnaik told The Indian Express.

He added that it was not even clear whether 5T was a department or, as the government called it, a “thought process”. “If it’s not a department, then what’s the need for a Secretary heading it? The CM could have asked the Chief Secretary to implement the 5T initiatives.”

The CM has defended Pandian’s visits saying these are part of tours by his CMO to district and blocks to redress grievances of the public. On July 12, the CM said, they had received 18,000 grievances from 20 districts.

Where Pandian goes from here remains unclear. But clearly people have made up their minds. The lasting image from every visit of his is the hundreds of petitions he is personally handed over by people.

He is also learning the other tricks of the trade. On August 19, while Pandian was on a visit to Satyabadi in Puri, there was an ink attack on the 48-year-old. Police detained the youth, but were told by Pandian to set him free. He did not want to register a case.

Naveen Patnaik’s powerful private secretary: V K Pandian, Odisha officer in a growing, unofficial, role (2024)
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