A power couple for BJD? Why Naveen Patnaik roped in Sujata Karthikeyan

Former IAS officer Sujata Rout Karthikeyan, the wife of bureaucrat-turned-politician V K Pandian, joined the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Thursday in what is being seen as party president and former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s broader “succession strategy” as his party grapples with challenges such as the defection of grassroots leaders to the BJP and growing internal dissent.

Amid reports of dissent brewing among a group of senior leaders over Karthikeyan’s entry into the BJD, Patnaik tried to reach out to them with the message that he continues to be the BJD boss. “I would like to repeat that I will be leading the BJD in the next election. I want to make that very clear, ” said Patnaik, adding that Karthikeyan would work as a “simple member” of the party.

Throughout his political life, Patnaik has had a trusted lieutenant help him run the government and the party. While Pyarimohan Mohapatra, a former bureaucrat, had that role till he fell out with the BJD president and was expelled in May 2012, Pandian, who was Patnaik’s private secretary in the Chief Minister’s Office, has emerged as his closest aide in recent years. He was seen as running the party in the run-up to the 2024 elections and, following the rout, was blamed for the BJD’s poor showing.

“With the BJD out of power and Patnaik advancing in age, it’s not possible for him to run the party singlehandedly. Among the current lot of BJD leaders, no one enjoys Patnaik’s trust to be his second in command. To save the party from further damage, Patnaik has to shape the succession plan,” said a BJD leader.

Though Pandian officially quit active politics after the 2024 polls, he continues to enjoy Patnaik’s confidence and played a role in getting his wife inducted into the party, said the BJD leader.

While Karthikeyan’s joining the BJD was long anticipated, BJD sources said it was delayed because Patnaik anticipated a pushback from senior leaders opposed to Pandian. (Express Photo)

While Karthikeyan’s joining the BJD was long anticipated, BJD sources said it was delayed because Patnaik anticipated a pushback from senior leaders opposed to Pandian. BJD insiders said the decision to bring in the former IAS officer into the party was taken earlier this month during Patnaik’s visit to Delhi. During the week-long visit, the BJD chief is learnt to have consulted his elder brother Prem Patnaik and other associates about the party’s roadmap. A BJD leader said among the husband-wife duo, Patnaik wanted to bring in Karthikeyan, who hails from Kendrapara, into the party before even Pandian.

Who is Sujata Karthikeyan?

One of the most influential bureaucrats during the BJD years, the 51-year-old Karthikeyan’s name was synonymous with the Mission Shakti initiative, the Patnaik government’s flagship programme on women’s empowerment.

Within a year of BJD losing power, the 2000-batch IAS officer followed her husband in opting for voluntary retirement in March 2025. Pandian resigned from the bureaucracy in October 2023 and joined the BJD a month later to spearhead its poll campaign.

Karthikeyan holds a Bachelor’s degree in political science from Lady Shri Ram College in Delhi and a Master’s degree in international politics from Jawaharlal Nehru University. During her IAS training, where she met Pandian, Karthikeyan received the Asok Bomabwale Prize for the best officer trainee at the academy. Though Pandian was initially allotted the Punjab cadre, he shifted to Odisha because of his marriage to Karthikeyan. The couple has two children.

In her initial years as the Collector of Sundargarh, a tribal dominated district also facing Left-Wing Extremism, she managed to increase school attendance. It was seen as a result of the initiative to add eggs to mid-day meals twice a week. It was subsequently replicated in the rest of the state. Karthikeyan was also hailed for her initiative to give cycles to girl students in high schools, funded by bank sponsorship. Another initiative that earned her the moniker “Football Collector” was the initiative of distributing footballs in the interior villages of Sundargarh and developing the hockey infrastructure in these remote areas.

Karthikeyan holds a Bachelor’s degree in political science from Lady Shri Ram College in Delhi and a Master’s degree in international politics from Jawaharlal Nehru University. (Express Photo)

As the director of social welfare, she also played a key role in the implementation of the Mamata scheme, a conditional cash-transfer initiative for pregnant women and lactating mothers aimed at improving institutional delivery. She also helped the government run Mission Shakti, under which rural women formed self-help groups (SHGs). Almost 70 lakh women were organised under the programme as part of over six lakh SHGs, which were given financial support through bank loans to take up livelihood activities. This scheme received huge traction among rural women and helped the BJD build a strong vote bank that propelled it to victories in multiple elections.

In 2021, the government created a dedicated department for Mission Shakti. Karthikeyan was appointed its secretary, a position she remained in till 2024, when the Election Commission, taking cognizance of a complaint by the BJP during the elections, ordered her transfer to the finance department. At the time, this was seen as the BJP’s attempt to break the BJD’s hold over the SHG vote bank.

During the elections, her husband increasingly came under attack from the BJP — its top leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, ran an aggressive campaign targeting Pandian’s Tamil identity — as well as sections of his own party. Following the BJD’s loss, as her husband lay low, Karthikeyan, too, went on child care leave for six months and months after returning, opted for voluntary retirement.

At present, Pandian heads the Biju-Naveen Foundation Trust, a little-known organisation that is active in various sectors.