Naveen Patnaik doesn't need alliance to retain power, says close aide Pandian amid BJP-BJD tie-up buzz

VK Pandian

Odisha 5T Chairman VK Pandian said that Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) supremo Naveen Patnaik does not need an alliance to retain power in the state. Pandian, Patnaik's close aide, made similar remarks for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The former IAS officer's comments came while speaking at the CNN-News18’s Rising Bharat Summit 2024.

"Naveen Patnaik does not need an alliance to come back to power. I would say the same thing about Prime Minister Narendra Modi," said Pandian, chairman 5T (Transformational Initiatives) and Nabin Odisha.

Pandian stated that one of the key reasons for Patnaik's success has been that the he doesn't think of politics as politics but as a public service. "He is also not seen as a politician. He has a great soul," said Pandian.

The bureaucrat who joined Patnaik's BJD in 2023 and is widely being viewed as his successor, also said, "Patnaik is so popular, meticulous, and futuristic that I am sure he must have planned the future. He always says the people of Odisha will decide his successor."

There has been a buzz that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and BJD may join hands for the upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly elections in the state. However, there has not been any official announcement yet.

During his visit to Odisha at the beginning of February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised chief minister Naveen Patnaik and described him as a “friend”.

Earlier last month, BJD, despite having the numbers, chose to support BJP candidate Ashwini Vaishnaw in the Rajya Sabha polls.

The parties were in a coalition for eleven years beginning in 1997, and, prior to becoming the chief minister, Naveen Patnaik was a union minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government in the late 1990s.

The former allies have also seen success in two assembly elections and three Lok Sabha polls in Odisha.

Both parties successfully contested Lok Sabha elections in 1998, 1999, and 2004 and Assembly elections in 2000 and 2004.

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