EXACTLY six months and 13 days after joining politics, former bureaucrat V K Pandian on Sunday announced his withdrawal from active politics following the BJD’s drubbing in both the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls, but said he would keep Odisha in the core of his heart and ‘Guru Naveen Babu’ in his breath. In a video message, Pandian said his only intention to join politics was to assist Naveen Patnaik, which is why he did not contest in the 2024 elections. He also apologised to the people and BJD leaders and workers if they held him responsible for the electoral loss. “My intent in joining politics was only to assist Naveen Babu, and now I consciously decide to withdraw from active politics. I am sorry if I have hurt anyone on this journey.

 

I am sorry if this campaign narrative against me played a part in BJD’s loss,” Pandian said. During the campaign, Pandian had asserted that he would quit politics if party president Patnaik did not become the chief minister of Odisha for the sixth consecutive time after the Assembly elections. The BJP stormed to power in Odisha, ending the 24-year rule of the BJD, by winning 78 seats in the 147-member assembly. The Patnaik-led party, on the other hand, bagged

51 seats, while the Congress won 14 constituencies, the CPI (M) one. The BJD failed to win any of the Lok Sabha seats in the state.