Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik revamps team, 21 MLAs sworn in as ministers

Bhubaneswar, June 5

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday reconstituted his ministry, inducting 13 MLAs in the Cabinet and appointing eight others as Minister of State (independent charge). The new council of ministers has 12 fresh faces and five women.

Three of the five women — Pramila Mallick, Usha Devi and Tukuni Sahu — have been given Cabinet ranks.

Representation has also been given to leaders of the Scheduled Tribe, Scheduled Caste and Other Backward Class categories.

BJD MLAs Jagannath Saraka, Niranjan Pujari and RP Swain were among the first ones who were administered oath of office and secrecy by Governor Ganeshi Lal at the ceremony, held in the new convention centre of Lok Seva Bhawan in Bhubaneswar. On Saturday, all 20 ministers of the state had resigned, paving way for the reconstitution.

Speaker SN Patro, too, quit his post, but did not cite any reason for doing so.

This is for the first time that Patnaik has filled 21 berths in his council of ministers.

In his previous terms, one berth had always remained vacant. According to the recommendations of the Sarkaria Commission, Odisha can have a maximum 22 ministers, including the Chief Minister. Sources in the BJD said new and comparatively younger faces had been inducted in Patnaik’s team, with an eye on 2024 elections to the Lok Sabha and the state Assembly.

The development came days after the Patnaik government completed three years of its fifth consecutive term as the CM.