India, June 25 -- Former bureaucrat Sujata Pandian, 50, on Thursday joined Odisha's Opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) even as the party chief Naveen Patnaik maintained he would lead it in the next election. Sujata Pandian, wife of Patnaik's close aide VK Pandian, was inducted amid speculation over her political future and post-Patnaik BJD.

The BJD has been grappling with questions of succession and a series of defections following its loss of power to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2024, which prompted VK Pandian to quit politics. Sujata Pandian's entry is expected to strengthen perceptions that she is being positioned for a larger role in the BJD. She also took voluntary retirement, like her husband, to enter politics. BJP's "Odia A...