Bhubaneshwar, June 25 -- Sujata Rout Karthikeyan, former IAS officer and wife of former IAS VK Pandian and trusted aide of former chief minister Naveen Patnaik, joined the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Thursday.

Leader of opposition and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik was also present in the party office, Sankha Bhawan, in Bhubaneswar.

Speculation about her joining the BJD was doing the rounds since Sujata took voluntary retirement in March, 2025. Earlier, Pandian had also taken voluntary retirement from service in October 2023 to join BJD.

Referring to the BJD's defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha and Odisha Assembly elections, which ended the party's 24-year rule in the state, BJD leader Manmath Routray told ANI, on Thursday said the setback had prompt...