former IAS officer Sujata Root Karthikeyan, spouse of bureaucrat-turned-politician VK Pandian; Joined Biju Janata Dal (BJD) On Thursday, the get together introduced what’s seen as a far-reaching “succession technique” for get together president and former state chief minister Naveen Patnaik because it grapples with the next challenges: Defection of grassroots leaders to the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering And inner dissent is rising.
Amid studies of dissension among the many senior management group over Karthikeyan’s entry into the BJD, Patnaik sought to convey the message that he stays the BJD boss. “Let me reiterate that I intend to guide the BJD within the subsequent elections. I need to make that clear,” Patnaik stated, including that Karthikeyan would work as a “mere member” of the get together.
All through his profession as a politician, Patnaik has relied on trusted lieutenants to assist him run his authorities and get together. Pandian, who was Patnaik’s personal secretary within the Prime Minister’s Workplace, has emerged as one among Patnaik’s closest aides in recent times, a job he held till former bureaucrat Pyarimohan Mohapatra was ousted in Could 2012 after falling out with the BJD chief. He’s anticipated to guide the get together within the run-up to the 2024 elections and was blamed for the BJD’s poor efficiency after its defeat.
“With the BJD out of energy and Mr. Patnaik getting older, it isn’t attainable for him to run the get together on his personal. Among the many many present BJD leaders, none enjoys the belief of Mr. Patnaik as his second-in-command. Mr. Patnaik must provide you with a succession plan to save lots of the get together from additional harm,” a senior BJD official stated.
Though Pandian formally stop politics after the 2024 polls, he inherited Patnaik’s belief and was instrumental in getting his spouse into the get together, the BJD chief stated.
Mr. Karthikeyan’s becoming a member of the BJD had been anticipated for a very long time, however BJD sources stated his participation was delayed as a result of Mr. Patnaik was anticipating a backlash from cadres against Mr. Pandian. (Specific photograph)
Mr. Karthikeyan’s becoming a member of the BJD had been anticipated for a very long time, however BJD sources stated his participation was delayed as a result of Mr. Patnaik was anticipating a backlash from cadres against Mr. Pandian. BJD insiders stated the choice to induct the previous IAS officer into the get together was taken throughout Patnaik’s go to to Delhi earlier this month. It’s realized that through the week-long go to, the BJD chief consulted his brother Prem Patnaik and different officers on the get together’s roadmap. A BJD chief stated that among the many husband-wife duo, Mr. Patnaik needed Mr. Karthikeyan from Kendrapara to affix the get together earlier than Mr. Pandian.
Who’s Sujata Karthikeyan?
Some of the influential bureaucrats of the BJD period, 51-year-old Karthikeyan’s identify had turn into synonymous with the Mission Shakti initiative, the Patnaik authorities’s flagship program for girls empowerment.
Lower than a yr after the BJD misplaced energy, the 2000 batch IAS officer adopted her husband and opted for voluntary retirement in March 2025. Pandian resigned from the federal government in October 2023 and joined the BJD a month later to spearhead its ballot marketing campaign.
Karthikeyan holds a bachelor’s diploma in political science from Woman Shri Ram School, Delhi and a grasp’s diploma in worldwide politics from Jawaharlal Nehru College. Karthikeyan, who met Pandian throughout his IAS coaching, gained the Asoke Bomabwale Award for the very best officer cadet on the academy. Pandian was initially assigned to the Punjab cadre however moved to Orissa attributable to her marriage to Karthikeyan. The couple have two kids.
In her first few years as collector of Sundergarh district, a tribal-majority district that additionally faces left-wing extremism, she managed to extend faculty attendance. This seems to be the results of an effort so as to add eggs to lunch twice per week. It was later replicated in different elements of the state. Karthikeyan was additionally praised for his bank-backed initiative to provide bicycles to highschool ladies. One other initiative that earned her the nickname ‘Soccer Collector’ was an initiative to distribute soccer to the inside villages of Sundergarh and develop hockey infrastructure in these distant areas.
Karthikeyan holds a bachelor’s diploma in political science from Woman Shri Ram School, Delhi and a grasp’s diploma in worldwide politics from Jawaharlal Nehru College. (Specific photograph)
As Director of Social Welfare, she additionally performed a key function within the implementation of the Mamata Scheme, a conditional money switch initiative for pregnant ladies and breastfeeding moms aimed toward bettering institutional births. She additionally helped the federal government run Mission Shakti, the place rural ladies type self-help teams (SHGs). Beneath this program, round 700,000 ladies have been organized as members of over 600,000 SHGs and given monetary assist by financial institution loans to hold out livelihood actions. The plan garnered vital assist amongst rural ladies and helped the BJD construct a powerful vote financial institution that gained a number of elections.
In 2021, the federal government created a specialised division for Mission Shakti. Karthikeyan was appointed its secretary and remained within the put up till 2024, however the Election Fee, taking cognizance of the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering’s complaints through the election interval, transferred her to the finance ministry. On the time, this was seen as an try by the BJP to interrupt the BJD’s grip on the SHG vote financial institution.
Through the election interval, her husband got here underneath assault from the BJP. The get together’s prime management, together with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and House Minister Amit Shah, had waged an aggressive marketing campaign focusing on Mr. Pandian’s Tamil id. The identical was true for some members of the identical get together. After the lack of BJD and her husband’s sickness, Karthikeyan additionally went on paternity go away for six months and opted for voluntary retirement for a couple of months after her return.
Mr. Pandian at the moment heads the Biju Naveen Basis Belief, a little-known group working in numerous fields.
