Odisha’s first BJP Chief Minister, Mohan Charan Majhi, on Saturday allocated portfolios to his newly appointed cabinet ministers. Majhi retained the departments of home, finance, general administration and public grievances, information and public relations, water resources, and planning and convergence. Deputy Chief Minister KV Singh Deo will handle Agriculture, Farmers’ Empowerment, and Energy departments. Pravati Parida, the other Deputy Chief Minister, will oversee Women and Child Development, Mission Shakti, and Tourism. Veteran BJP leader Suresh Pujari has been assigned Revenue and Disaster Management, while farmer leader Rabi Narayan Naik will manage Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, and Drinking Water departments.
Tribal leader Nityananda Gond will be responsible for School and Mass Education, ST&SC Development, Minorities & Backward Classes Welfare, Social Security, and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities departments, the statement released by the state government said.
Majhi took oath as the Chief Minister of Odisha on Wednesday, along with party leaders Gokula Nanda Mallick and Sampad Kumar Swain, who were also sworn in as ministers in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The oath-taking ceremony was held at Janata Maidan in Odisha’s Bhubaneswar. Along with this, Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia, Suryabanshi Suraj, and Pradeep Balasamant also took oath as ministers in the Majhi-led cabinet.
Mohan Charan Majhi is the first BJP Chief Minister of Odisha. Along with Majhi, two deputy Chief Ministers — Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and Pravati Parida were also sworn in. Parida has become the first woman deputy chief minister of the state.
Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Naveen Patnaik, who served as chief minister of Odisha for 24 years, was also present on the stage during the ceremony.
