Bhubaneswar : BJD president Naveen Patnaik was sworn in as Odisha chief minister for the fourth straight term here Wednesday. Twenty-one ministers, including 11 cabinet ministers, also took oath with him.
Governor S.C. Jamir administered the oath of office and secrecy to Patnaik, 67, and other ministers at a ceremony attended by hundreds of party leaders, workers, officials and journalists at the Raj Bhavan here.
Patnaik took his oath in English while party workers raised slogans in his favour outside the premises.
The cabinet ministers are Damodar Rout, Debi Prasad Mishra, Pradip Kumar Amat, Bijayshree Routray, Badri Narayan Patra, Bikram Keshari Arukh, Lal Behari Himirika, Pradip Maharathy, Usha Devi, Puspendra Singhdeo and Yogendra Behera.
The 10 ministers of state are Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, Arun Kumar Sahu, Ashok Kumar Panda, Sanjay Dasburma, Sudam Marandi, Pradip Panigrahi, Ramesh Chandra Majhi, Prafulla Kumar Mallik, Pranab Prakash Das and Snehangini Chhuria.
Five leaders — Surya Narayan Patro, Maheswar Mohanty, Niranjan Pujari, Rajanikant Singh and Subrat Tarai — who were part of Patnaik’s previous team were denied berths.
The chief minister later distributed the portfolios. While he retained home, general administration, water resources and public works, he named former assembly speaker Pradip Kumar Amat as the new finance minister.
First-time minister Prafulla Kumar Mallik has been given the important department of steel and mines, party veteran Damodar Rout has become the excise and cooperation department minister.
Debi Prasad Mishra has become the new industries, school and mass education department minister while Pradip Maharathy has been assigned agriculture, fisheries and animal resources department.
Bijayshree Routray is the new revenue and disaster management minister while Bikram Kesari Arukh gets forest, environment and parliamentary affairs.
Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak will be in charge of health and information and public relations department.