New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: The Cabinet reshuffle in the Union Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday morning saw nine new faces and four Ministers of State, including Union Petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan, being elevated to cabinet rank.
Dharmendra, the popular face of Odisha BJP, was the first minister to take oath at the swearing-in ceremony held at the Rastrapati Bhavan.
The Odisha BJP unit celebrated his elevation at the party office in the state capital.
The other ministers promoted to the Cabinet are Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines Minister Piyush Goyal, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Minority Affairs Minister Muktar Abbas Naqvi.
Analysts see these promotions as a reward for their performance. Dharmendra’s elevation also indicates BJP’s growing interest in gaining ground in poll-bound Odisha.
Among others, Anant Kumar Hegde, former Home Secretary R K Singh and former diplomat Hardeep Singh Puri, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, ex-Mumbai police chief Satyapal Singh, ex-IAS officer Alphons Kannanthanam were sworn in as Ministers of State.
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