Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is set to undertake a cabinet reshuffle on Monday following the resignations of the Speaker of the Odisha Assembly and two ministers, as reported by news agency ANI. The swearing-in ceremony for the newly appointed council of ministers will take place at the Convention Centre of Lok Seva Bhavan in Bhubaneswar on May 22, starting at 9:30 am, as per the prearranged schedule. This will mark the second cabinet reshuffle during Patnaik’s fifth term as Chief Minister.
As preparations are underway for the oath-taking ceremony, Governor Ganeshi Lal, the designated administrator, is currently in his hometown of Haryana and is expected to return on Monday. Sources mentioned that he has been asked to come back on Sunday, according to news agency PTI. School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash and Labour Minister Srikant Sahu had submitted their resignations last week. Since the untimely demise of Health Minister Naba Kishore Das in January, no replacement has been appointed.
Last week, Speaker Bikram Keshari Arukha, along with two other ministers, also tendered their resignations. The Parliamentary Affairs Department is actively making arrangements for the forthcoming oath-taking ceremony scheduled for Monday, PTI reported. Patnaik had previously reorganized his cabinet in June of the previous year.
Currently, the Odisha Council of Ministers comprises 19 ministers, including the Chief Minister, instead of the full capacity of 22 ministers. Several potential candidates, namely Prafulla Samal, Debi Prasad Mishra, Amar Prasad Satpathy, and Badri Narayan Patra are being considered as front runners for the position of Speaker.
