Former IAS officer Sujata Karthikeyan joins BJD amid succession buzz | India Information
2 min learnBhubaneswarUp to date: Jun 25, 2026 01:07 PM IST
Former IAS officer Sujata Rout Karthikeyan, spouse of bureaucrat-turned-politician VK Pandian, formally joined the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Thursday within the presence of celebration president Naveen Patnaik.
Sujata arrived on the Sankha Bhawan, the BJD headquarters, to a rousing reception by celebration staff and senior leaders from the ladies’s wing.
“I want to welcome Sujata Rout to BJD. She will probably be becoming a member of as a easy member of the celebration. You realize that she has been an IAS officer and held a number of essential positions together with her final place which was to take care of girls in Odisha. As time passes, she will get used to a brand new place. She’s going to study to assist folks, significantly, girls,” Patnaik mentioned following Sujata’s induction.
Sujata had opted for voluntary retirement in March 2025, months after BJD’s defeat in 2024 meeting and Lok Sabha polls. (Specific Photograph)
“I want to repeat once more that I will probably be main the BJD within the subsequent elections. I wish to make that very clear,” he asserted.
Senior leaders, MPs and MLAs from all 30 districts had been invited by the celebration to Sankha Bhawan apparently to ship a sign that her becoming a member of the BJD is a collective choice by the celebration.
Regardless of being claimed that she would work as a standard celebration employee, BJD insiders mentioned her position will probably be essential within the celebration within the days to come back. Her induction can be seen as a part of the BJD’s bigger succession plan.
Sujata, a 2000-batch IAS officer of Odisha cadre and thought of to be one of many influential bureaucrats throughout BJD regime, opted for voluntary retirement in March 2025, months after BJD’s defeat in 2024 meeting and Lok Sabha polls.
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“I bought a possibility to serve the folks of Odisha for twenty-four years underneath Naveen Patnaik’s management. By becoming a member of BJD, I once more bought that chance to serve the folks of Odisha underneath Naveen Babu’s management,” Sujata instructed reporters after becoming a member of the celebration.
She mentioned with the blessings of Lord Jagannath and lakhs of staff of BJD staff, “I’ll work for the state with full sincerity and dedication.”
