V Karthikeyan Pandian, a former IAS officer and close aide to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, officially joined the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Monday.
The formal induction took place in the presence of Chief Minister Patnaik, along with ministers, lawmakers, and senior leaders of the BJD.
V Karthikeyan Pandian is a 2000-batch IAS officer known for stirring controversies and facing accusations of violating service rules and he voluntarily retired from government service on October 23.
Subsequently, he was appointed as the chairman of the state's flagship 5T (transformational initiative) and Navin (new) Odisha scheme, holding the rank of cabinet minister.
This position enables him to work directly under Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Pandian's formal entry into the BJD marks a notable development in the state's political landscape.
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.
