Bhubaneswar: A day after Odisha’s first BJP government headed by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi took oath in Bhubaneswar, speculations are rife over distribution of portfolios among the new Ministers on Thursday.
Apart from the Chief Minister, two Deputy Chief Ministers, eight Cabinet ministers and five Ministers of State with independent charge were sworn-in at a grand ceremony at Janata Maidan in the state capital on Wednesday evening.
While all are eagerly waiting for distribution of different portfolios among the new Ministers, sources said Ranpur MLA and former Minister Surama Padhy is set to become the next Speaker of the state Assembly.
Though portfolios are likely to be announced shortly, observers said that the Chief Minister is likely to keep important departments like Home and General Administration with him.
Similarly, his deputies Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and Pravati Parida are expected to be given some key departments. While Singh Deo has already served as Minister, Parida happens to be a first-time MLA.
The 16-member council of ministers, including the CM, has one woman member, three from Scheduled Tribes and two from Scheduled Castes. While eight of the 16 members are first-time MLAs, no one of them except Singh Deo has any previous experience of working as a Minister.
The BJP has tried to strike regional balance while picking members for the council of ministers. Largest populous district Ganjam in the southern region, where the BJP won 11 of the total 13 seats despite it being considered a BJD stronghold, got two ministerial berths — one Cabinet (Bibhuti Jena) and a Minister of State with independent charge (Gokula Nanda Mallik).
The southern region also got one more Cabinet berth with the inclusion of Umerkote MLA Nityananda Gond, a tribal from Nabarangpur district.
While Deputy CM Singh Deo is from Balangir district in western Odisha, the district got another Cabinet berth with the inclusion of Mukesh Mahaling. Western Odisha, known to be a BJP stronghold, also got two more Cabinet berths — Suresh Pujari (Brajarajnagar) and Rabi Narayan Naik (Kuchinda).
Coastal Odisha from where the party has picked Pravati Parida as Deputy Chief Minister also found sizeable representation in the Cabinet. Chilka legislator Prithiviraj Harichandan has been inducted as Cabinet minister while Paradip MLA Sampad Chandra Swain took oath as Minister of State (independent charge).
Mayurbhanj district, where the party won all nine MLA seats, got two Ministers. Moroda MLA Krushna Chandra Mohapatra has been given Cabinet berth while Jashipur MLA Ganesh Ramsingh Khuntia given a Minister of State with independent charge berth. Districts like Jajpur and Dhenkanal also got representation in the Ministry.
