Unfazed by the ‘outsider’ barb from his opponents, Naveen Patnaik’s closest associate V.K. Pandian has said he is a “natural successor” to all the great values of the Odisha Chief Minister and that he would do everything under the sun to help his “guru” serve the people of the State.
In a no-holds-barred attack on the BJP, Mr. Pandian also said it is the ruling party at the Centre that has done nothing for the 'Odiya Asmita' or for promoting the language, art and culture of the State despite repeated pleas by the Chief Minister.
In an interview at Mr. Patnaik’s residence, the 49-year-old former IAS officer who last served as private secretary to the Chief Minister before quitting the service to join the Biju Janata Dal in 2023, said, “I call Naveen babu my guru and I’m his shishya (disciple).”
Mr. Pandian said he is just a foot soldier and not even an office-bearer of the party, but he is a big fan of Mr. Patnaik.
“I do everything under the sun to see that Naveen babu comes out with flying colours and continues to serve the people of Odisha in the best possible way and with all the big dreams he has for Odisha,” Mr. Pandian said.
Asked about he being seen as a natural successor to 77-year-old Mr. Patnaik, who has been Odisha’s Chief Minister for five terms and is seeking his sixth term in the ongoing polls, Mr. Pandian said, “I’m a natural successor to all the great values he possesses, whether it’s his impeccable integrity, his commitment to people of Odisha, his hard work, punctuality, sincerity, everything.”
He added, “Every person in Odisha and perhaps in the country should try to succeed his values. That’s the kind of successor of Naveen babu I see myself as and I’m proud of it. I try to emulate whatever he is doing.”
Mr. Pandian said, “The BJP calls me an outsider for their own political reasons, people of Odisha don’t say that.” Mr. Pandian was born in Tamil Nadu, studied in Delhi and started his career as a Punjab cadre IAS officer, but shifted to the Odisha cadre after marrying an Odia.
“I have worked in Odisha for a quarter of a century now. People of Odisha see me as one of them. Why would they otherwise come out in such scorching heat in such large numbers to try to come close to me?” he said, referring to the huge crowds at his rallies and public meetings.
Speaking fluent Odia laced with the local dialect of the place of the rally, Mr. Pandian always begins his public meetings interacting with the people, taking selfies with them on their own phones, shaking hands, and collecting their petitions.
He begins and ends his speeches with “Jai Jagganath” and reads out a report card on the status of the petitions collected by him from the same place three or four months ago.
Mr. Pandian, who always removes his sandals before getting on to the stage, said, “I’m not a superstar or a great cricketer or somebody in some fancy field. I’m just a worker, but there is still so much love and affection of the people.”
“It clearly means that some connect is there and it has to be because of the great work done by Naveen babu. I’m just a part of his team,” he said.
On persistent attacks on him from the BJP, including recently for the Chief Minister releasing a vote appeal video wearing a lungi, Mr. Pandian said, “I’m always the target. Whenever there is a tree with lots of fruit, everyone tries to throw stones at that so that something will happen, something will fall down. It’s like that.”
Mr. Pandian said, “The BJP knows that Naveen Patnaik has huge traction among the people and I’m trying to help him, so they always try to attack me to weaken me physically, mentally, whichever way they can.”
“But the protection of Naveen babu and his work and of the love of the people is so strong, nothing will happen to me. All these attacks can’t affect me by a single inch or degree. All these attacks actually give me more strength,” he added.
Mr. Pandian said that in addition to Mr. Patnaik’s guarantee and the shield of people’s love, he also draws strength from the State government’s work.
“The work speaks loudest. Why should people love me? They love Naveen babu because of so much work he has done. People love me because they see a foot soldier of Naveen babu in me,” he added.
