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Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s former principal secretary Bijay Kumar Patnaik, who had also served as the Chief Secretary of the State Odisha, is likely to join the Congress party. This was announced by senior Congress leader Amiya Pandav on Wednesday.
Taking to his social media handle, Pandav made the announcement sending a buzz in the political corridor of the State.
“Former Chief Secretary Bijay Patnaik will join Congress today. Welcome,” Pandav’s post read.
Patnaik, a 1976 cadre IAS officer, was the principal secretary of CM Naveen Patnaik from 2004 to 2010. He served as the Odisha Chief Secretary from September 2010 to 2013.
Later, he was appointed as the chairman of the Odisha Staff Selection Commission (2013-14) and then as a member of the Odisha Human Rights Commission (2014-14).
He then joined the Vedanta University project as its chairman in April 2015. The mining company had inked a pact with the Odisha government in 2006 to set up an international university in Puri. However, the project could not be completed due to problems in land acquisition.
Earlier in 2022, there was a buzz that Patnaik could join Congress. However, he laid all speculation to the rest, by clarifying that he was not interested in politics.
Patnaik could not be contacted immediately over the recent development.
