Naveen’s close aide V Karthikeyan Pandian flies to Delhi after poll drubbing

By Dr Rama Chandra Behera

Bhubaneswar, June 6: Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader V Karthikeyan Pandian, who was allegedly untraceable after the party’s crushing defeat, has reportedly left for New Delhi, informed sources.

 As per sources, Pandian is staying at a 5-star hotel in Delhi. He reportedly boarded a flight to Delhi last night, sources said.

Soon after the reports, a purported video of Pandian at Delhi airport and images of him on a flight also surfaced.

Interestingly, suspended IPS officer DS Kutey, who was in the Odisha CMO, is also reportedly in Delhi. Speculation is rife that Pandian and Kutey may be planning their future course of action.

Amid his disappearance, reports of his emergence in Delhi have given rise to public suspicion that Pandian could be in an escape mode in a bid to hide from scrutiny over alleged irregularities.

Before the elections, Pandian was making whirlwind tours and was visible almost everywhere. He grabbed the limelight after doing several rounds of interviews with national and local media. In his speech, he also took digs at Narendra Modi and Amit Shah terming them as political tourists.

He even asserted that he would take sanyas from politics if Naveen Patnaik was not elected as CM and did not take oath on June 9.

However, after the BJD’s electoral setback in the 2024 elections, he was mysteriously invisible in the power corridor and even reportedly skipped the meeting of the BJD MLAs held in Naveen Niwas on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, senior BJD leader Prafulla Samal said, “The presence of our honourable Naveen Babu is always welcome. It does not matter who else is absent at meetings.”

“We are all with the BJD. It is Naveen Babu’s prerogative who will be beside him and who is not. You (media) were under the impression that Naveen Babu could not do anything without Pandian. Now, you people believe that Naveen Babu can work without Pandian,” added Samal

Such a statement by the BJD leader spurred speculations about Naveen Patnaik driving Pandian out of Naveen Niwas.

Late in the evening, BJD spokesperson Sasmit Patra said Pandian was in Delhi on the instruction of Naveen Patnaik. He did not elaborate on why he was sent to Delhi by Patnaik.