Once a powerful Odisha bureaucrat, Sujata Karthikeyan takes voluntary retirement

During the elections last year, Karthikeyan was transferred to a less influential post following the direction of the Election Commission (EC). The polling body ordered her transfer after the BJP registered a complaint accusing her of being a “BJD agent”. With the BJD losing power after ruling Odisha for over two decades, Pandian, facing pressure from within the party and outside, announced he was quitting active politics.

Karthikeyan took child care leave for six months but rejoined duty last November after the state government declined her application to extend her leave by six more months. She was serving as the special secretary in the state finance department at the time of retirement.

The 49-year-old is from Baluria village in Odisha’s Kendrapara district and spent some time in Jamshedpur, where her father worked as a doctor. She met Pandian at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration during their IAS training. Though Pandian was initially allotted the Punjab cadre, after marriage, he changed to the Odisha cadre.

In the initial days of her career, Karthikeyan served as the Collector of Cuttack and Sundargarh districts.

During the BJD government’s rule, Karthikeyan was given the responsibility of heading the Mission Shakti initiative, one of the top priority projects dealing with 70 lakh rural women. She first served as director of the department and was subsequently promoted to secretary of the department in June 2021. In November 2023, Karthikieyan was given the additional responsibility of handling the Odia Language, Literature and Culture department. The posting was made keeping in mind the government’s decision to host the world Odia language conference in February 2024.