10 Odisha ministers resign ahead of Naveen Patnaik's ministry reshuffle

Bhubaneswar: Ten Odisha ministers resigned to pave the way for Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to reshuffle his three-year-old ministry.

The ministers who resigned are: Pradip Kumar Amat, Debi Prasad Mishsra, Lal Behari Himirika, Jogendra Behera, Pushpendra Singhdeo (all cabinet rank), Arun Kumar Sahoo, Sanjay Dasburma, Sudam Marndi, Pranab Prakash Das and Pradeep Panigrahi (all MoS, Independent charge).

The ministers tendered their resignation ahead of the reshuffle, the first since Mr Patnaik took over office for the fourth term in 2014, which is expected to take place tomorrow.

“I am grateful to those ministers who have resigned voluntarily to work for the party,” Mr Patnaik told reporters.

The revamp would help the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) serve the people better, he said.

Meanwhile, 11 persons are likely to be inducted into the council of ministers in the swearing-in ceremony slated to be held at Raj Bhawan tomorrow, official sources said.

Those who are expected to find ministerial berths are S N Patro, Maheswar Mohanty, Pratap Jena, Niranjan Pujari, Sashi Bhushan Behera, Sushant Singh, Bijay Naik, Prafulla Samal, Nrusingha Sahu, Anant Das and Chandra Sarathi Behera.

From among the 11 new faces, as many as six are set to become ministers for the first time. Those making debut into the ministry are Sashi Bhushan Behera, Sushant Singh, Bijay Naik, Nrusingha Sahu, Anant Das and Chandra Sarathi Behera.

Odisha can have a maximum of 22 ministers excluding the chief minister.

Mr Patnaik, meanwhile, appointed five of the ministers who resigned today as party observers in different districts. They are: Debi Prasad Mishra, Sanjay Dasburma, Arun Kumar Sahoo, Pradip Panigrahi and Pranab Prakash Das.