Odisha ministers quit en masse, new ones to be sworn in tomorrow

The rejig has come at a time when the ruling Biju Janata Dal government has completed three years of its fifth term in office on May 29 and the party notched up its 5th by-poll win after the 2019 assembly election. The reshuffle is said to be a major exercise to strengthen and rejuvenate the party ahead of the 2024 general elections.

Published on: Jun 4, 2022, 20:42:32 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

Bhubaneswar: All 20 ministers in Naveen Patnaik’s cabinet and Odisha assembly Speaker Surjya Patro resigned ahead of the first cabinet reshuffle during the fifth term of the Biju Janata Dal government.

Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik had asked all his ministers to resign from their positions ahead of the cabinet rejig on Sunday. (PTI PHOTO.)

People familiar with the development said that CM Patnaik had asked all his ministers to resign from their positions ahead of the cabinet rejig on Sunday. The swearing in will be held in Raj Bhawan at 11.45 am.

The rejig has come at a time when the ruling Biju Janata Dal government has completed three years of its fifth term in office on May 29 and the party notched up its 5th by-poll win after the 2019 assembly election. The reshuffle is said to be a major exercise to strengthen and rejuvenate the party ahead of the 2024 general elections.

There is speculation that several ministers who resigned will be asked to take up organisational work with an eye on 2024 general elections, and many new faces will be inducted. In April, a similar exercise had happened in Andhra Pradesh, where all ministers of the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government had quit.

For Naveen Patnaik, though, a complete overhaul of the ministry will not be new. In 2017, the chief minister had asked 10 of the 20 ministers in his Cabinet to resign and concentrate on party work. Five of the ministers who resigned were given district charge to prepare the party organisation for the 2019 elections. The beginning of preparations for 2024 elections by the state BJP has also put the ruling BJD on its toes. The saffron party has already begun an exercise to prepare a road map for the polls.

The cabinet reshuffle comes a few months after the party emerged victorious in the panchayat and civic body elections. Though the party has been consistently doing well in the polls, party strategists feel a new team should take over to add momentum to several welfare measures being undertaken by the government.

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

Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather and major national developments.