Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik clarified in an interview that VK Pandian is not his successor, stating that the people of Odisha will decide on his future successor.
In an exclusive interview with ANI, the Odisha CM said that Pandian is not his successor and that the people of Odisha will decide about his successor.
On allegations by the opposition and former BJD leaders that ‘VK Pandian takes decisions on behalf of CM Patnaik’, CM Naveen said, “…This is ridiculous and I have said it often before, this is an old allegation and it holds no weight.”
CM Naveen Patnaik when asked on the Succession Plan In BJD says, “I’ve said repeatedly that successor will be decided by the people of the State. That’s the natural result…” Asked whether CM is grooming Kartik Pandian as his successor, CM said, “I can’t understand these exaggerations. You may have noticed that he’s not standing in the elections….He’s not my successor & I see all of these as exaggerations of all sorts”
IAS officer-turned-BJD’s star campaigner, Pandian, who is considered a successor to CM Naveen Patnaik, does consider himself as a successor to Naveen Patnaik’s values, similar to every youth in Odisha. Pandian is widely considered the second-most influential person in the party after Naveen. As the main election strategist for the regional party, Pandian has become the prime target for the opposition.
Comments are closed.