An audacious plan to pass on the political baton in Odisha has advanced significantly with V. Karthikeyan Pandian, the powerful former private secretary to chief minister Naveen Patnaik, formally joining the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD).The move holds no surprises. That Pandian – a Tamil Nadu-born IAS officer originally alloted to the Punjab cadre who came to live and work in Odisha only after getting married to an Odia colleague – enjoys Patnaik’s trust has been well known. As the sole gatekeeper to the ageing and reticent Odisha patriarch, Pandian wielded enormous power both within and outside the party that has ruled the state without interruption since 2000.Given his unmatched influence, that Pandian is eyeing to be the successor to Patnaik as and when he exits the political stage has also had a ring of certainty. It was reinforced further when he quit the IAS a few weeks ago and was promptly made the chairperson of two state government initiatives with cabinet minister rank.His induction into the party strengthens the popular perception that Pandian is in pole position to succeed Patnaik, a bachelor with no biological heirs.What Pandian’s joining the BJD possibly tells us is that the chief minister likes him more than anyone else and that the ex-bureaucrat in all likelihood is his choice as the successor.But while speculations over the succession can now be considered to be more or less settled, a bigger question still looms: Will Odias, who like the chief minister, like his choice as well?While one has to wait longer to find out the answer, there is little to doubt any more that Patnaik is relying on the goodwill he enjoys to push through his choice. A non-Odia being pitchforked to be the future CM could be unimaginable in any other state. But Odisha has proven to be different in the past. Patnaik became the chief minister of Odisha when he spoke no Odia. Patnaik, by all accounts, is hoping that Odias will be as forgiving to the non-Odia Pandian.Propelled by that conviction, Patnaik as well as his government and party have left no stone unturned to pave the way for Pandian’s prominence.In hindsight, the recent Odisha government move to gather public grievances by sending Pandian on whirlwind helicopter trips to all districts of the state was cleverly orchestrated.Pandian’s public profile went up several notches as the state spent crores of public money to organise for him the elaborate rallies attended by thousands. The government and the chief minister insisted the spectacle rolled out over some six months was to bring the CMO (Chief Minister’s Office) to the doorstep of the common people.It was a palpable lie. For one, Pandian as the private secretary to the chief minister, was only one among the 15 officers in the CMO. He was also not the senior most. But it was only him who one saw touring the state amid mega publicity.More importantly, even the chief minister’s assertion in the assembly later that the move to send CMO officials was to lessen the financial burden of common people who otherwise would have been required to spend own money to visit government departments to lodge their complaints, did not wash.As it turned out, the Odisha government spent more than what an ordinary Odia would have had to spend.Going by what Patnaik told the assembly, the government spent some Rs 1.5 crore per month for six months to gather the grievances. It translated into Rs 9 crores in total.Some 57,000 grievances were collected during the six-month drive. The government expenditure to collect each grievance therefore worked out to Rs 1,578.But a highly skilled Odia worker would have spent much less – just Rs 1,004 – if he or she had to go to the district collector to complain, spending some two days, since the daily wage for such workers is Rs 502 only.The money spent would have been far less for unskilled or moderately skilled workers, their daily wages being much lower.But plain mathematics simply did not matter for Patnaik, hell-bent on promoting Pandian. The high-profile tours over, Pandian quit the IAS, taking up a more public role as chairperson of state government initiatives with cabinet minister rank.Benefiting from his very expensive political launch, he has now taken the next step – formally joining the ruling party.For the time being, Pandian could be considered the unchallenged crown prince.In anticipation that he will ultimately take over the reins of the party and government, ruling party MLAs and MPs are making a beeline for him. They are also engaged in a cringe-worthy flattery competition, hailing him as someone who will change Odisha’s destiny as no one else.The party and the state machinery are clearly under Pandian’s control. But then the question still remains: will it still remain so when Patnaik is not around? Could there be insiders within the BJD who would muster the courage to stand up then and challenge him?Finally, there is also the singularly important question of whether Odias will accept a non-Odia as their leader. Odias, after all, are a proud race who trusted a regional party like BJD with protecting their regional interests and aspirations.Politics always has the potential to throw up surprises. Could there be a surprise in store as well that could upset Patnaik-Pandian’s well-laid-out plans? Well, politics in Odisha has just got more interesting and intriguing.Ruben Banerjee is the former editor-in-chief of Outlook and the author of the book Naveen Patnaik.
