Pandian quits politics over BJD’s poll debacle

V K Pandian, who quit the IAS last November to join BJD and quickly graduated from ex-CM Naveen Patnaik's trusted bureaucratic aide to rumoured political heir, ended his innings in politics with a statement saying he was "sorry if the campaign narrative against me has had a part to play for BJD's loss”.
“I have consciously decided to withdraw myself from active politics...I apologise to the Biju family and all workers of BJD. My only intent of joining politics was to assist my mentor Naveen Patnaik,” said Pandian, who had declared at a rally that he would quit politics if BJD didn't return to office with a three-fourths majority.
Tamil Nadu-born Pandian's resignation caps a week of setbacks for BJD, with Naveen missing out on a sixth consecutive term in office and the party drawing a blank in the Lok Sabha poll. The former bureaucrat, whom BJP repeatedly targeted during the campaign as a threat to “Odia asmita” (identity), is copping much of the blame for his party's electoral debacle, although his mentor has stood by him.
In what could be more than a coincidence, Naveen's nephew Arun Patnaik landed in Bhubaneswary, sparking a buzz about the BJD baton being passed within the family. Naveen recently clarified that he hadn't anointed Pandian as his political successor, saying the people of Odisha would choose who should wear that hat.