With eyes on the crucial 2024 General Elections, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik picked up a new team which took oaths of office and secrecy at a special function held here on Sunday.
While 13 MLAs took oath as Cabinet Ministers, eight were appointed as Ministers of State (Independent charge). In the newly formed Naveen’s team, there are five women faces.
They include- Rita Sahu, Pramila Mallick, Usha Devi, Tukuni Sahu and Basanti Hembram Bijepur
MLA Ritu Sahu, who took oath as Minister of State (Independent), said, “ I will work to ensure for speedy implementation of the package announced for the region. I am hopeful that inclusion of women leaders will certainly help the party.”
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Senior leader Usha Devi, who took oath as a Cabinet Minister, said, “ CM Naveen Patnaik has given focus on women empowerment. Earlier, there were only four women ministers and now the number has reached 5."
Cabinet Ministers in Naveen’s new team are Jagannath Saraka, Niranjan Pujari, Ranendra Pratap Swain, Pramila Mallick, Usha Devi, Prafulla Kumar Mallik ,Pratap Keshari Deb, Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, Pradip Kumar Amat, Naba Kishore Das, Ashok Chandra Panda, Tukuni Sahu and Rajendra Dholakia
Ministers of State (Independent) are Samir Ranjan Dash, Aswini Kumar Patra, Pritiranjan Ghadai, Srikanta Sahoo, Tusharkanti Behera, Rohit Pujari, Rita Sahu and Basanti Hembram.