Who Will Be Next Chief Minister Of Odisha? Naveen Patnaik Says ‘Pandian Not My Successor’

New Odisha Chief Minister: The Lok Sabha Elections 2024 have been concluded and the results have also been announced; BJP-led NDA has won the polls and PM-designate Narendra Modi will take oath on June 9, 2024. Along with the General Elections, Assembly Elections were also held in some states, at the same time and these include the Odisha Assembly Elections 2024. Biju Janata Dal (BJD) faced a defeat from the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and post the results, former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik resigned from the post. Recently, on the question of who will become the next chief minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik has given an answer to the reporters.. here’s what he said..

‘Pandian Not My Successor’, Naveen Patnaik On Who Will Become Next Odisha CM

Days after the results of the Odisha assembly polls, state outgoing Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday said that Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader VK Pandian is not his “successor” and pointed out that the people of the state would decide on this. In a conversation with reporters in Odisha’s Bhubaneshwar, Patnaik said, “I would like to say that Mr Pandian has also worked and helped in health, education, sports, and our programme of temple restoration. Mr Pandian joined the party but has not had any posts. I have always clearly said that when they asked me about my successor, I said clearly that it was not Mr. Pandian. I repeat it. The people of Odisha will decide my successor.”

Patnaik further expressed gratitude towards the people of Odisha, stating, “My deep gratitude to the people of Odisha, for blessing me time and again, showering me with their blessings. Also, I think that we have always tried to do an excellent job and we have much to be proud of in our government and our party.”

Who Is VK Pandian?

Pandian, an IAS officer of the 2000 batch, has served as private secretary to Patnaik for over two decades. In 2023, he joined the BJD after taking voluntary retirement from the bureaucracy. Speaking about Pandian, Naveen Patnaik said, “It has also come to my attention that there has been some criticism of Mr. Pandian. This is unfortunate. As an officer, he did excellent work. He did an excellent job helping with the two cyclones and the COVID-19 epidemic in our state. Later, he retired from bureaucracy and joined my party and he has contributed largely to that by doing excellent work. He is a person of integrity and honesty and he should be respected for that.”

(Inputs from ANI)