The reshuffle in the State Council of Ministers has warmed up political circle in Ganjam district with people giving mixed response to replacing of young Minister Pradeep Panigrahi by senior one Surjya Narayan Patra from the district in the Ministerial team.
While the number of Ministerial representation from the district remains same, the change of MlA in the Council of Minister has sent many indications to leaders and supporters of the BJD, feel many.
Notably, Digapahandi MlA Patro, who was a Cabinet Minister in Naveen Patnaik’s third-phase Government, was sworn-in as Minister on Sunday and given Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare and Cooperation portfolios. Panigrahi, a youth MlA of the distrct, had resigned as Higher Education Minister a day before after being made as general secretary of the BJD and appointed as observer of Gajapati district.
Apart from this, change in portfolios of two other Ministers of the district, Bikram Keshari Arukh and Usha Devi, has also been a matter of hot discussion among party leaders and general people. Usha Devi, who was holding Woman and Child Welfare Department, was given Planning and Convergence, Skill Development and Technical Education portfolios. Similarly, Arukh, who was in charge of Forests and Environment Department, was given Information and Public Relations and Rural Development portfolios.
Meanwhile, BJD leaders, various elected representatives, including BDA Chairman and block Chairpersons, have greeted Patro at Bhubaneswar for being a Minister again.