Naveen Patnaik inducts 3 new ministers into Odisha cabinet

Bikram Arukha was later allocated finance portfolio while Sudam Marndi got school and mass education. Sarada Nayak will head labour & employees’ state insurance department.

Updated on: May 22, 2023, 15:13:22 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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BHUBANESWAR: Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday inducted three new ministers including Sudam Marndi who was dropped from the council of ministers in the 2022 reshuffle.

Odisha governor Ganeshi Lal and chief minister Naveen Patnaik at the oath event for the three BJD legislators inducted as ministers (Twitter/GovernorOdisha)

Among the three ministers administered the oath of office by governor Ganeshi Lal on Monday was a six-time legislator from Bhanjanagar, Bikram Keshari Arukha who resigned as assembly speaker earlier this month. Monday’s expansion takes the strength of the council of ministers to 22.

Bikram Arukha was later allocated finance portfolio while Sudam Marndi got school and mass education. Sarada Nayak will head labour & employees’ state insurance department.

Leaders of Odisha’s ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) said Arukha was inducted into the Naveen Patnaik team to lead the party’s effort to strengthen the party in Ganjam, the home district of the chief minister. A BJD leader said the party has been facing trouble in the region after former minister and Gopalpur legislator Pradeep Panigrahi was expelled from the party in 2020 following his arrest in a corruption case. Panigrahi, once considered close to Naveen Patnaik, has since then turned into a sharp critic of the BJD leadership.

Sudam Marndi, who represents the Bangriposi assembly segment, was inducted as Odisha’s revenue and disaster management minister in 2019 but was dropped in the June 2022 reshuffle. A BJD leader said the decision to elevate him appeared to be linked to the BJD’s renewed attempt to take on the BJP which won five of the seven assembly segments under the Mayurbhanj Lok Sabha seat.

Rourkela legislator Sarada Nayak was hand-picked to counter senior BJP leader and former Union minister Jual Oram who is leading the opposition’s offensive in the Sundargarh district. A BJD leader said Nayak’s induction is also a reward for his role in BJD’s stunning victory in the just-concluded Jharsuguda assembly bypoll.

Monday’s cabinet expansion came days after Odisha’s school and mass education minister Samir Ranjan Dash and labour minister Srikant Sahu resigned after landing in controversies over the suicide of a BJD leader who blamed Dash for his death and a female BJD worker’s statement that accused Sahu of sexual harassment.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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