By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: After forming a Jumbo team to manage party affairs, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who was supposed to reshuffle his Cabinet, continued to keep in guessing the Ministerial aspirants. A 21-member ministry, including the Chief Minister Patnaik, was sworn in on May 29, 2019.The Ministry had 11 Cabinet Ministers and nine Ministers of State with independent charge. It had 10 new faces and 2 women.
To strengthen Party activities, the BJD Boss has appointed as many as 53 General Secretaries, 17 Vice-Presidents including 9 Junior and 8 Senior. As per the BJD Constitution, the 80-members State Executive has the power to choose office bearers but Patnaik went against the Constitution of the Party by nominating 53 General Secretaries and 17 Vice-Presidents. BJD is yet to appoint its Secretary and Treasurer, sources said.
It may be noted here that, in 2015, when Prasad Harichandan was Odisha PCC chief, he had formed a Jumbo team with 25 General Secretaries, 55 Secretaries, 10 Vice-Presidents and 5 Political secretaries taking the total to 95. In 2018, when Niranjan Patnaik was made PCC Chief, he went further ahead by appointing 99 Secretaries, 24 General Secretaries and 14 Vice-Presidents.
Sources said with speculations of Cabinet reshuffle, some Ministers like Naba Kishore Das, Bikram Keshari Arukha, Padmanav Behra, Arun Sahoo, Ashok Panda and Government Chief Whip Pramila Mallick and her Deputy Rohit Pujari are spending sleepless nights as they have turned apprehensive whether they will continue in the Ministry in case of a reshuffle.
Ministerial aspirants like Kendrapara’s Aul MLA Pratap Keasari Deb, Kalahandi’s Narla MLA, Bhupinder Singh and few others have been hopeful as they are quite senior to get the Ministerial berth and have not been absorbed in the party’s organizational position. Naveen Patnaik appointed 3 General Secretaries from Kendrapara including Atanu Nayak of Mahakalpada, Sashi Bhushan Behera of Kendrapara and Dhruba Sahoo of Rajnagar, which may help Aul MLA Pratap Keshari Deb to strengthen his lobby for a berth as his past record was very bright and clean as Odisha Civil Supplies, Consumer Welfare, Technical Education, Training and Employment Minister and he has been winning the Aul seat for 4th times including a Hat-Trick from 2000-14.
“With Kendrapara, which shares an emotional bonding with late legendary Biju babu’s family, has no representation in the State Cabinet, and Chief Minister Patnaik himself had announced to personally take care of his father’s Karmabhoomi during the last Patkura by-polls, chances this time look bright for Kendrapara as Chief Minister may seriously consider any from the district in the Cabinet,” sources manning Naveen Niwas said.
The buzz in some quarters is that Naveen will show the door to about half-a-dozen Ministers and introduce many new faces. Naveen will choose leaders keeping in the BJD’s interest on priority for the urban and rural polls, sources added. Speculation is brewing over the intended strategy of Naveen Patnaik behind the massive reshuffle & expansion. Experts argue that it could be an attempt by the BJD supremo to pacify resentment brewing in the party and also a strategy to counter allegations of power getting concentrated in the hands of bureaucrats.
