Who is former IAS VK Pandian? Who will succeed Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik?

Two days after Naveen Patnaik was sworn in for a fifth term as Chief Minister of Odisha, the film is of former IAS VK Pandiyan. This is the first such film with Naveen Patnaik's personal secretary, who has started touching the strings of Odisha politics. The film was the center of controversy as Pandyan was with Naveen Patnaik for years, but she was always outside the frame. After five years, Pandian is back in the news. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's health is affected by the election battle. With Naveen Patnaik's health being questioned, the most talked about name is VK Pandian. He is considered the political successor of Naveen Patnaik. Recently, in a viral video where questions were raised about Naveen Patnaik's health, Pandyan was seen hiding the CM's shaking hand behind the stage. In the video, Patnaik is addressing the rally and Pandian is holding the mic. Who is VK Pandian: Former IAS VK Pandian is very close to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He was born on 29 May 1974 in Tamil Nadu. Pandian completed his graduation from the Madurai campus of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University and his postgraduate studies at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute. After this he cleared the IAS exam and started his training as a Punjab cadre officer. A few months passed after Pandian's training, which came to Odisha from the Punjab cadre and became popular, he got married to Sujata Rawat, an IAS officer of his own batch, and was transferred to Odisha. In 2002, Pandian got his first post as Sub Collector in Kalahandi district. In 2004, Pandian was given charge of the Rourkela Development Agency, i.e. RDA, which went bankrupt. The agency was unable to build houses for the people who had invested, and because of that Pandian improved the situation with the RDA over the next six months. This is VK Pandian's first film with Chief Minister Patnaik released by Chief Minister's Office in 2019. This is how VK Pandiyan found his place in Naveen Patnaik's good book and by then he had become a well-known officer of Odisha. In 2005, he was given the charge of Mayurbunj district, where he was the DM. This is also the home district of Odisha Chief Minister. During his tenure here, Pandian gradually got into the good graces of Naveen Patnaik. By 2011, he had become one of Naveen Patnaik's most trusted officers. Until then, one more name has been added to the confidants of Naveen Patnaik who has assumed the Chief Minister's office and this name is that of Pyari Mohan Mahapatra. A former IAS who was considered closest to Patnaik as a politician. He also looked after Naveen Patnaik's advisory work. After the rift with him, Pandian became close to Patnaik. In 2011, he joined the Chief Minister's Office and was appointed as the Chief Minister's Private Secretary. In 2019, when Naveen Patnaik took power in the state for the fifth term, Pandyan was appointed as the secretary for the 5T scheme. The 5T scheme is said to have been the brainchild of Pandian, which was touted as a scheme to overhaul the administrative system. All schemes, services and programs of Odisha are brought under this scheme. Its supervision was given to Pandian. Pandian held more than 200 meetings during this period. He heard the problems of the people. Even during Covid, Pandian took absolute command. Hence, while questions were being raised on Pandyan, the opposition also questioned the continued use of helicopters. This is a deeply disturbing video. Shri VK Pandian ji controls even the hand movements of Shri Naveen Babu. I shudder to think of the level of control a retired ex-officer from Tamilnadu now exercises over Odisha's future! BJP is determined pic.twitter.com/6PEAt7F9iM — Himanta Biswa Sarma (Modi Ka Parivar) (@himantabiswa) May 28, 2024 Former bureaucrat-turned-politician Pandian joins BJD in 2023 applying for VRS. When assembly elections were announced in Odisha along with the Lok Sabha elections, Pandyan was given the second charge in the BJD. Pandian is the second name after Naveen Patnaik in the party's list of star campaigners. He leads the BJD's campaign and attends every meeting with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Opposition parties are targeting Pandian due to his continuous activities. Since Pandyan is a Tamil, the opposition parties are linking him with an Odia identity and calling him a former IAS-I super CM. Union Home Minister Amit Shah had also said that Tamil Babu is running Odisha behind the scenes. He had also said that if we give BJP a chance, we will only give you an Odia speaking Chief Minister.