VK Pandian IAS to Cabinet Minister: The political stir has intensified before the 2024 assembly elections in Odisha.The reason for this is that IAS officer VK Pandian, who was the secretary of the state Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for the last one and a half decades (12 years), will be given a cabinet minister as soon as he took the voluntary retirement (‌VRS) of VK Pandian.He will be the chairman of Naveen Patnaik’s ambitious transformative initiative 5T and will report directly to the Chief Minister.After giving him this important post to him in a hurry by the government, the discussion of becoming the next CM of his state has also intensified.In such a situation, let us tell you today who are these VK Pandians who despite being an IAS officer, not only used to have great stature in the government, but in the politics of the state too, they are now emerging as a foreign face.CM has been special for a long timeVK Pandian’s full name is V Karthikeya Pandian.He was born on 25 May 1974 in Tamil Nadu.He has been special of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for almost 23 years.He is not being called the successor of CM Patnaik, but Pandian, who was the IAS officer of Odisha cadre of 2000, became a favorite of the Chief Minister with his deployment.In 2002, he was appointed all the collector of Dharmagadh in Kalahandi district.After that, for the first time in 2005, he became DM of Mayurbhanj district.After this, he was transferred in 2007 in CM’s home district Ganjam.He has been on the private secretary of CM Naveen Patnaik since his deployment in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) in 2011.Stormy tour of helicopter remained in the headlinesPandians have been the most influential officers in the Odisha government.This can be gauged from the fact that in recent times he had made such a stormy tour of the districts using the state helicopter, due to which he came under target of opposition parties.He was accused of violating the conditions of administrative services.Sumar among the trusted officials of CM while being DM of GanjamIn 2007, Pandian was made DM of Ganjam, which is the home district of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.Due to his great working style here, he became one of the confidant bureaucrats of CM.It is from here that Pandian got a posting directly in the Chief Minister’s Office in 2011, after which he has remained the private secretary of CM.Pandians have been masters of Chief Minister’s transformative schemesIn 2019, when Naveen Patnaik became the Chief Minister of the state for the fifth time, he launched a welfare campaign named 5T for the overall development of Odisha, which was given to his most special bureaucrat Pandian.He was made the Secretary of 5T and now he has been given his responsibility directly by making him a cabinet minister.Ever since the appointment to the post of Secretary, Pandian used a stormy use of helicopter to hear their complaints for the facilities of the people and held 190 meetings.Born in Tamil NaduAccording to the Odisha government website, Pandian was born on 25 May 1974 in Tamil Nadu.Apart from English and Odia, he also speaks Tamil and Hindi well, which can prove to be helpful in ensuring penetration between eastern Indians living in the state.It is being said that due to health reasons, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik can leave the post of CM at the time of 2024 elections.In such a situation, Pandian can be made his successor.Also read: Who is IAS VK Pandian who became a minister in Odisha government, can become CM Patnaik’s successor