BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik would create a rare chapter in his political career and the Odisha parliamentary history with taking oath of office as the Chief Minister for the straight fourth term on Wednesday.
Governor Dr SC Jameer would administer the oath of office and secrecy to Patnaik and the members of his new Council of Ministers in the premises of the Raj Bhavan here at a swearing-in ceremony at around 10 am.However, there was no clear information regarding the shape and the names of the probable Ministers though sources in the BJD said Patnaik had already given the final touch to the formation of his new team after a marathon exercise. The team would comprise 20 Ministers besides Patnaik, they said.
The swearing-in ceremony would be held at a makeshift air-conditioned hall fitted with lED television sets in view of the sizzling heat wave conditions. An estimated 3,000 guests, including VVIPs, have been invited to the ceremony, for which heavy security arrangements have been put in place by the Commissionerate of Police.
In view of the CBI sword hanging on the Government over the chit fund scam and the Enforcement Directorate having already initiated the process of tracking the money trail, Patnaik in the last moment kept some of the party heavyweights allegedly having links with the ponzy firms out of the Ministerial team to avoid political embarrassment, sources said.
The names of at least half a dozen of senior party leaders and Ministerial aspirants were reportedly doing the rounds for being the beneficiaries of the chit fund business and having links with the fraudulent chit fund companies.