From Pyari to Sujata: Bureaucrats who shaped Odisha politics

In the Indian state of Odisha, some very important government workers called bureaucrats have become politicians.

These are people who used to help run the government and later decided to join political parties.

The leader Naveen Patnaik, who was Odisha's chief minister for many years, often relied on a trusted bureaucrat to help him lead.

One of them was Sujata Rout, who created a big program called Mission Shakti to help women.

She recently joined Patnaik's political party, the BJD, but he said she joined as a 'simple member'.

Another bureaucrat, Pyarimohan Mohapatra, helped Patnaik become powerful but was kicked out of the party in 2012 for trying to take over.

Then there was V K Pandian, who became very powerful and managed many projects, but people also criticized him, and his party lost an election in 2024.

Other ex-bureaucrats joined different parties, like Ashwini Vaishnaw, who became an important minister for the Indian government.

So bureaucrats have shaped Odisha politics, sometimes for good and sometimes causing big arguments.