After the Biju Janata Dal faced a bitter defeat in the recent elections, the party’s supremo Naveen Patnaik’s close aide, bureaucrat-turned-politician V K Pandian, announced his retirement from active politics.
Mr. Pandian, an ex-IAS officer (2000 batch Odisha cadre), shared a video message saying, “I have decided to withdraw from active politics, and I am sorry if I hurt anyone on this journey. My sole purpose in joining politics was to support Mr. Patnaik, which is why he did not contest the elections. I will always keep Odisha in the core of my heart and my Guru Naveen Babu in my breath.”
In the recent state Legislative Assembly elections, the BJP secured 78 seats (out of 178 seats), while the BJD was restricted to only 51. In the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP swept 20 out of the 21 seats, while the BJD could secure only one seat.
