Bhubaneswar: The new government in Odisha led by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will have ten new faces. Naveen, who is scheduled to take Oath of Office in the morning, has picked a mix of experienced and new faces for his ministry. Along with Naveen, twenty ministers will also take Oath. Among them are ten Cabinet Ministers and nine Ministers of State. Surprisingly, the ministry has ten new faces. Three of the new ministers are first time Members of the Legislative Assembly. The list includes two women members. While senior legislator of the party Surya Narayana Patra has been chosen for the post of Speaker, Pramila Mallick has been tipped to be the Government Chief Whip in the Assembly.
Naveen’s new ministry includes ten new faces. They are Tukuni Sahu, Dibya Shankar Mishra, Jyoti Panigrahi, Sameer Ranjan Dash, Jagannatha Saraka, Padimini Dian, Tusharakanti Behera, Raghu Nandan Das and Naba Das.
Padmini Dian, Raghunandan Dash and Tusharkanti Behera are lucky enough to get ministry berths in their first stint as MLAs. Raghunandan, who deserted BJP and joined BJD to fight against Damodar Rout in Balikuda-Ersama seat, has been rewarded. Likewise, Tusharkanti Behera, who left the BJP although the party had given a ticket to him, and joined BJD, has been successful in getting a ticket and the Chief Minister’s confidence. Another new entrant from Kotpad, Padmini Dian has also been chosen by the Chief Minister to be a Minister of State in his team.
Jharsuguda heavy weight leader and three time MLA, Naba Kishore Dash, who joined the Biju Janata Dal just before the elections and won, has been given a Cabinet Berth by Naveen. Likewise, Tukuni Sahu, the two time MLA from Titlagarh has also got a Cabinet Berth. Captain Dibya Shankar Mishra, who won from the Junagarh assembly constituency for the second time has also been made a minister by the Chief Minister. The list also includes Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi from Simulia, Balasore who has been given a berth as Minister of State. The two time MLA from Bissam Cuttack in Rayagada, Jagannath Saraka has also been given a chance to become a minister in Naveen’s dream team. Samir Ranjan Dash, the heavy weight from Nimapara constituency who has won for the second term has been given a berth as Minister of State.