Ex-bureaucrat Sujata Karthikeyan joins BJD, inducted by Patnaik

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. “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.

Sujata is a political science Bachelor from Lady Shri Ram College and a Delhi University topper Masters in international politics. During IAS training, she was awarded the Asok Bomabwale prize for the best officer trainee in Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy.

As Collector in Naxal-affected Sundargarh district, Sujata started the cycle scheme for high school students through Bank sponsorship. In 2005, when road access to schools was challenging, especially for young girls and there was a sharp dropout of tribal girls after eighth standard, cycles were provided to girl students through bank sponsorship with the motto Mobility is Empowerment.

Later became famous as “Football Collector” in Sundergarh district due to her penchant for distributing footballs in far-off villages bordering Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. In 2006, she introduced eggs in the MDM scheme in all Government schools of Sundergarh.

She was the first woman collector of Cuttack district and then joined as Director of Social Welfare in State Government. The popular Mamta scheme was launched under her - a conditional cash transfer, maternity benefit scheme which was applicable universally.

As Secretary Culture in the State Government, which she held for a brief period of five months, Sujata was instrumental in hosting the first-ever World Odia language Conference in Bhubaneswar.