Sujata Rout Karthikeyan joins BJD, Naveen Patnaik reaffirms leadership

Former IAS officer Sujata Rout Karthikeyan, wife of VK Pandian, formally joined the Biju Janata Dal on Thursday. Welcoming her as a primary member, Naveen Patnaik dismissed leadership succession speculation and reaffirmed that he would lead the party in future elections

Bhubaneswar: Former bureaucrat Sujata Rout Karthikeyan, wife of former Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s close aide VK Pandian, formally joined the BJD on Thursday. Patnaik announced her induction after a meeting at Sankha Bhawan, the party headquarters here.

“I would like to welcome Sujata Rout to the BJD. She will be joining the party as a simple member. She has been an IAS officer and held several important positions, including her last assignment where she looked after many women of our state,” Patnaik said.

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“I am sure, as time passes, she will get used to her new position. She will learn to lead people, particularly women,” he added. Amid speculation that Sujata could eventually take over the reins of the party, Patnaik asserted that he would continue to lead the BJD in the next elections.

“I would like to repeat again for the information of the media and all other people that, of course, I will lead the BJD in the next elections. I want to make it very clear,” he said.

Sujata, a native of Kendrapara district, said she would work sincerely for the people of the state. “I have availed opportunities to serve the people of Odisha for 24 years under the leadership of Naveen Patnaik. Today, I got the same opportunity again to serve the people of Odisha under his leadership,” she told reporters after joining the party.

“I will work for the people of Odisha with sincerity and dedication, with the blessings of Lord Jagannath, party leaders and millions of BJD workers,” she added.

An IAS officer of the 2000 batch, Sujata resigned from the civil services on March 13, 2025. She is widely credited with expanding Mission Shakti, the women’s empowerment programme of the previous BJD government.

Her entry into active politics comes after Pandian, a bureaucrat-turned-politician, announced his withdrawal from active politics following the BJD’s defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha and assembly elections.

While Pandian stepped away from politics after the electoral setback, Sujata continued in the bureaucracy before resigning around nine months after the BJP formed the government in Odisha. Some senior BJD leaders had earlier opposed her entry into the party, as they blamed Pandian for the BJD’s poor performance in the 2024 elections.