Naveen Patnaik rebuts news report claiming Pandian has offered to help BJP grow in Odisha, says it is "false, malicious"

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], July 22 : Former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has rebutted a news report which claimed that his former aide VK Pandian has offered to help the BJP improve its support base in the state. The Biju Janata Dal chief termed the report as "false, motivated and defamatory" and said that Pandian has served the state and party with utmost dedication and is respected for the same.
Pandian, who was a bureaucrat before he turned a politician, "withdrew" from active politics in June this year following Biju Janata Dal's drubbing in the assembly and Lok Sabha polls in Odisha.
"This is completely false, motivated, defamatory and malicious. As I have stated earlier Mr Pandian has served the state and party with utmost dedication efficiency and integrity and he is known and respected for the same," Naveen Patnaik said in a post on the X, reacting to the report which claimed that Pandian has conveyed that he could split the BJD and help the BJP grow in Odisha
While announcing his withdrawal from politics, Pandian had said he would keep Odisha in the core of his heart and 'Guru Naveen Babu' in his breath.
During the campaign for assembly polls, Pandian had said he would quit politics if Naveen Patnaik did not become the chief minister for sixth successive term.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) created history by winning its first assembly election in Odisha. The party won 78 of 147 seats with the Biju Janata Dal reduced to 51 seats. BJP also won 20 of 21 Lok Sabha seats in the state with BJD failing to open its account.
Patnaik has also also been unanimously elected as the chairperson of the BJD's parliamentary party.