Ex-bureaucrat VK Pandian officially joins Odisha's Biju Janata Dal party today

livemint.com:

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. “ Today our party supremo and Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik officially inducted VK Pandian into the BJD. Pandian took Naveen Patnaik's blessing after this.

Speaking to the senior leaders Naveen Patnaik said that just like Pandian had served the people of Odisha as a bureaucrat he would continue to do the same while in the BJD. He will work towards taking forward Naveen Patnaik's vision for the development of Odisha forward," Debi Mishra senior leader of the BJD told ANI. In October this year, VK Pandian was appointed as chairman of 5T (Transformational Initiative) and 'Nabin Odisha' in the rank of Cabinet Minister under the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik-led government.

This came a day after the Centre approved the voluntary retirement of the IAS officer, who has been serving as private secretary to the Odisha Chief Minister. Also Read: Naveen Patnaik rates Modi government ‘8 out of 10’, hails steps taken to ‘eradicate corruption’ VK Pandian is a 2000-batch Odisha cadre IAS officer. He started his career as a civil servant as a sub-collector in Dharmagarh, located in Kalahandi district.

Pandian subsequently served as a collector in the Mayurbhanj and Ganjam districts before transitioning to his role in the Chief Minister's office. In the last 10 years since joining, Pandian has played a key role in many crucial decisions of the Patnaik government. Prior to seeking Voluntary retirement VK Pandian served as 5T Secretary to the State Government.

5T is a charter of governance which emphasises Transparency, Technology, Teamwork, Time leading to Transformation. This the state government said ensures the speedy completion of many projects. Also Read: Gita Mehta, renowned author and Odisha CM