• Source:JND
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Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik dismissed the speculations that his close aide, VK Pandian, will be his political successor and called these claims an ‘exaggeration’. “He is not my successor. I see all of this as exaggeration and falsehood,” Patnaik said in an interview with news agency ANI. Patnaik emphasised that Pandian is not even contesting the Lok Sabha or the state Assembly elections. 

Patnaik's remarks came after the BJP accused Tamil Nadu-born bureaucrat-turned-politician VK Pandian of wielding complete control over Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and running the show in the state. Patnaik reportedly found the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in December 1997 as a breakaway faction from the Janata Dal. 

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“I have said this repeatedly: the successor (of the party) will be decided by the people of the state. That is the natural result of these things,” Patnaik said. “The party is being run for the service of the people of Odisha and will continue to do so,” he further added. 

Earlier, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma shared a video claiming that VK Pandian exerts a level of influence over the chief minister of Odisha. "This is a deeply distressing video. Shri VK Pandian ji is even controlling the hand movements of Shri Naveen Babu. I shudder to imagine the level of control a retired ex-bureaucrat from Tamil Nadu is currently exercising over the future of Odisha! BJP is determined is give back the reins of Odisha to the people of the State,” Sarma wrote in a post on X.

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The Odisha CM also refuted the claim that Pandian serves as a gatekeeper, making all decisions on his behalf. “That is ridiculous and I have said it often before. This is an old allegation and it holds no weight. I cannot understand these exaggerations,” he said.

VK Pandian, a former bureaucrat, retired from the Indian Civil Services on October 23, 2018, and joined the BJD on November 27. He earlier served as Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's private secretary for 12 years.