Biju Janata Dal (BJD) supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday appointed former law Minister Raghunath Mohanty as a BJD vice-president and the party observer of Dhenkanal district.
In March 2013, Mohanty had to resign from Naveen Patnaik Ministry after he was arrested in a dowry torture case filed by his daughter-in-law Barsa Swony Choudhury. Subsequently, he was suspended from the primary membership of the ruling party.
Mohanty, who represented the Basta Assembly constituency in Baleswar district five times in a row since 1990, was denied a party ticket during the 2014 general elections.
However, the BJD had revoked the suspension order on Mohanty in June 2017.