Odisha’s outgoing chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s close aide and senior BJD leader V K Pandian on Sunday announced his withdrawal from active politics in wake of the regional party’s defeat in the Lok Sabha and assembly polls.

In a video message, the bureaucrat-turned-politician said, "Now I consciously decide to withdraw myself from active politics. I am sorry if I have hurt anyone in this journey. I am sorry if this campaign narrative against me has had a part to play the Biju Janata Dal’s loss. My apologies to the entire Biju Parivaar including all the ‘karmis’ for this." Pandian said his only intention to join politics was to assist Patnaik and that is why he did not contest the elections.

The BJP stormed to power in Odisha, ending the 24-year rule of the BJD, by winning 78 seats in the 147-member assembly. The Patnaik-led party, on the other hand, bagged 51 seats, while the Congress won 14 constituencies, the CPI (M) one. The BJD failed to win any of the Lok Sabha seats in the state, with the BJP bagging 20 and the Congress one.

He said, "I will always keep Odisha in core of my heart and my Guru Naveen Babu in my breath."

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