VK Pandian, former IAS officer and secretary to Patnaik for a dozen years before he quit the bureaucracy in October last year, is not contesting either the Lok Sabha or the Assembly polls in Odisha this year. The proposed pre-poll alliance with BJP in March this year broke down over BJP refusing to assure him of any position of importance in a post-Naveen phase.

But Pandian is at the centre of a political maelstrom with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior leader Amit Shah targeting him over him allegedly endangering Odia Asmita (Odia pride) even as BJD candidates stand reverentially behind him at election meetings.

With Patnaik not able to campaign as vigorously as he could five years ago due to failing health, the Tamil Nadu-born former bureaucrat has emerged as the biggest campaigner for the regional party that is fighting anti-incumbency on the ground.

Criticism against Pandian

On Monday addressing two election meetings in Odisha's Berhampur and Nabarangpur Lok Sabha constituencies, Modi took a swipe at Pandian saying only “a person, who lives, understands and takes pride in Odia culture and tradition, can help resolve the problems of Odisha at a faster pace”. “The one who respects the soil of Odisha and its culture, knows the problems and solutions and has connections with the people will become BJP’s chief minister. This is Modi Ki Guarantee," said Modi, clearly hinting at Pandian succeeding Patnaik.

Though the Madurai-born Pandian has been in the limelight for over a year when he started going around the state in a chopper ostensibly to listen to and address public grievances, he has been under attack from the opposition BJP on his non-Odia background.

While Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan has described him as a "gumasta"(manager), BJP MP from Bhubaneswar, Aparajita Sarangi, last week called him ‘Sana babu’ (small babu) who is eagerly awaiting to replace ‘Bada babu’ (Patnaik).

Last week, criticism of Pandian’s influence on Patnaik and BJD spilled over to his wife Sujata Rout Karthikeyan, a 2000-batch IAS officer and secretary at the Mission Shakti department, when the Election Commission (EC) ordered that she be shifted out of the department over BJP's allegations that she was misusing her office to help BJD in the polls.

The BJP central leadership in their allegation against Pandian's wife said the Mission Shakti department that controls over six lakh women self-help groups in the state is being grossly misused by the party to influence the voters.

Pandian is likely to address over 160 meetings this month as he flies around in choppers across the state, taking up the electoral campaigning for BJD in place of 77-year-old Patnaik, who is increasingly finding it a herculean task to face the rigours of the election.

Pandian has been able to attract considerable crowds at election rallies and meetings. Drawing upon his experience in strategising the 2014 and 2019 elections, he has held meetings after meetings.

But many say the crowd at his meetings has more to do with the resourcefulness of BJD's electoral machinery than Pandian’s organic popularity. BJP leaders allege the crowd at Pandian's rallies is engineered. During numerous pre-election visits to districts such as Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Kalahandi and Bolangir this reporter found Pandian lacking resonance even among committed BJD voters. Many BJD leaders quietly point out how Pandian’s meeting, in fact, could undermine the prospects of candidates as he lacks the same charisma as the five-time chief minister.

Making the 2024 election all about a former bureaucrat seemed to have swept many pressing issues such as lack of employment and continuous migration to other states, lack of clean drinking water, lack of teachers and professors in schools, colleges and universities, malnutrition among tribal children and rising anaemia among girls. In the last few weeks, videos of villagers across the state threatening to boycott polls over lack of basic facilities have flooded social media.

However, Pandian does not seem to be rattled by the voices of dissent on the ground as he goes around the campaign trail while carefully denying any electoral ambition. But his denials seem to be having the opposite effect, fuelling speculations about his electoral ambitions with the possibility of him fighting a by-poll from one of the two seats being contested by the chief minister.

The June 4 results would determine Pandian’s political future and settle the succession enigma of a post-Patnaik Odisha. Once and for all.