Naveen Patnaik sworn-in as Orissa CM

The Economic Times, 21st May, 2009

BHUBANESWAR: A 21-member council of ministers headed by Naveen Patnaik was on Thursday sworn-in by Governor Muralidhar Chandrakant Bhandare here at
Raj Bhawan here. This is Mr Patnaik’s third term in power in a row since 2000. The members of the council ministers include Prafulla Chandra Ghadei, Dr Damodar Rout, Suryanarayan Patra, Anang Udaya Singhdeo, Raghunath Mohanty, Prafulla Samal, Bikram Keshari Arukh, Bijaya Ranjan Singh Bariha, Prasanna Acharya, Pramila Mallick, Debi Prasad Mishra (all Cabinent); Sanjib Sahu, Badrinarayan Patra, Sarada Prasad Nayak, Puspendra Singhdeo, Ramesh Majhi, Pratap Jena, Anjali Behera, Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak and Praveen Chandra Bhanjadeo (all minister of state). Nine of the 21 ministers are new faces while others held ministerial portfolios in earlier terms of the chief minister. Soon after the swearing-in ceremony, chief minister Mr Patnaik went to the state secretariat where he was received by the chief secretary Ajit Kumar Tripathy, police director general Manmohan Praharaj and leaders of secretariat employees association. Later, speaking to reporters Mr Patnaik said the people’s verdict in favour his party “has posed a new challenge to perform better in the coming days.” “The overwhelming mandate in favour of the BJD is challenge to perform better and we will try to live up to the people’s expectation,” Mr Patnaik said. The chief minister called upon the newly elected legislators and government officials to work sincerely for taking the state forward. “We people have a greater responsibility to carry forward the state on the path of progress,” Mr Patnaik said in reply to the felicitation at the state secretariat. The portfolios of the ministers are expected to be made open in the late evening, sources said. While chief minister Mr Patnaik’s district Ganjam got the lion share with three ministers in the council of ministers, Angul, Jajpur and Cuttack were given two berths each. Kendrapara, Jagatisinghpur, Balasore, Bhadrak, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Sambalpur, Bargarh, Bolangir, Kalahandi, Nowrangpur and Sundergarh got one berth each. At least 14 of the 30 districts remained unrepresented in the council of ministers. The districts include Deogarh, Sonepur, Kandhamal, Boudh, Nuapara, Koraput, Malkangiri, Rayagada, Nayagarh, Puri, Khurda, Dhenkanal, Gajapati and Jharsuguda. Interestingly, no major Naxal affected district has been given any representation in the ministry.