Pandian effect: Patnaik's close aide could be his Achilles heel

A top ruling party functionary is touring the state at a frenetic pace, and the Opposition in Odisha is strangely thrilled.

Leaders of both the BJP and the Congress who intend to unseat Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) when the state goes for simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and the state assembly in a few months insist that V Karthikeyan Pandian – Naveen’s erstwhile private secretary and now virtually his deputy in the party since he recently quit the IAS – is helping to whip up support for them more than their own leaders by touring the interiors of the state in a helicopter.

Taking over the mantle

“He is what Sanjay Gandhi was in the run-up to the 1977 polls that saw Indira Gandhi bite the dust. The more the junior Gandhi travelled amid state-sponsored fanfare, the more people got angrier and voted for the Opposition with a vengeance,” recalled a senior Odisha Congress leader, pleading anonymity.

The Congress leader’s claim is impossible to ascertain at the moment. But there are increasing signs that Pandian at the forefront of BJD’s campaign to extend the party’s uninterrupted rule since 2000 is emerging as a polarising figure.

As he takes over the mantle of the party’s outreach programme from an aged chief minister who looks increasingly frail and incapable of putting in physical labour that poll campaigns normally demand, VK Pandian is taking off in a helicopter every other day to publicise the supposed ‘transformative’ initiatives of the government in every corner of the state.

Odia pride

His incessant tours are meant for government propaganda, boosting morale of party workers, and raising his own public profile. Alongside all these though, his visits are also energising the Opposition cadres by allowing them to try and weaponise the emotive issue of Odia pride.

A Tamilian from Madurai who came to live in Odisha only after getting married to an IAS colleague, Pandian, for all practical purposes, now controls both the party and the government.

Though he occupies no official party position after having formally joined the BJD, his importance both as Naveen’s confidant and as the head of a government initiative that grants him ministerial status is unmatched.

Extra-constitutional power?

When he visited the district of Balasore last week, a senior minister and a senior party functionary were seen publicly getting down from their respective vehicles and clearing traffic for Pandian’s convoy.

The ‘sycophantic’ video showcasing the spinelessness of local leaders went viral and strengthened popular perception of Pandian as an extra-constitutional power. It also symbolised how a non-Odia has come to call all the shots in a party that claims to primarily work for upholding regional aspirations and dignity. None in the BJD can stand up to Pandian now as it is likely that he alone will decide who gets to contest the coming elections.

While party insiders are forced to keep mum, Pandian is going full steam unmindful of how his virtual usurpation of all state authority is being viewed by ordinary Odias.

Heavy Tamil accent

Speaking Odia in a heavily Tamil-accent, he is seeking to assert his Odia-ness by invoking the state’s presiding deity Lord Jagannath. His wife as the state culture secretary meanwhile is busy organising the first World Odia Summit next month.

‘Jay Jagannath’, Pandian repeats in response to most queries by journalists, including the ones over escorting a social media influencer Kamiya Jani to the Puri temple last month. The invite to the influencer who BJP alleged had promoted beef triggered a huge controversy, making Pandian more controversial.

Opposition leaders are accusing Pandian with a plethora of excesses – from misusing Lord Jagannath for his own publicity to exploiting his closeness to Naveen to outsmart all Odia politicians. For that matter, the 16.45 minutes video produced and circulated by Jani purportedly on the Puri temple had Pandian hogging screen time for no less than 10 minutes.

Protests becoming a norm

Though not very large, protests against Pandian are fast becoming a norm wherever he visits – from Balangir to Kalahandi. And in Bhadrak, where Pandian visited a temple, some villagers held a purification ritual to cleanse the temple of ‘Pandian affect’.

Having lost election after election to the BJD, Odisha’s Opposition is buoyed by the political prospects that Pandian’s high-profile but polarising presence in the state's politics now seem to offer. They expect that the now-customary sight of Pandian lording over son-of-the soil leaders who are not even allowed on the stage when he addresses rallies will only stoke revulsion amongst Odias and prompt them to vote against BJD.

Naveen Patnaik, having virtually nominated him as his successor, clearly sees Pandian as an asset. However, Opposition parties in Odisha see him more as Patnaik's Achilles heel.

In Pandian, they have spotted a vulnerability of Patnaik, and are out to exploit his ‘outsider’ status to ruffle Odia sentiments and turn the tables on the India’s longest serving chief minister. They are hoping that Pandian will continue to help them in their cause by his divisive presence.

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