Orissa: 5 new ministers sworn in, one elevated to cabinet rank

In the first reshuffle of the Orissa Cabinet since the 2009 Assembly elections, five new ministers were sworn in and another elevated to cabinet rank in the exercise carried out today by chief minister Naveen Patnaik.
   
The six ministers were administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor M C Bhandare at the Raj Bhavan here.
   
Lal Bihari Himirika, who quit as Deputy Speaker as part of the reshuffle exercise, was sworn in as cabinet minister.
   
MLA Pradip Maharathy, representing the Pipili seat and former Assembly Speaker Maheswar Mohanty, a legislator from Puri, were among the new entrants.
   
Also sworn in were MLAs Chikiti Usha Devi and Niranjan Pujari.
   
Anjali Behera, who was minister of state (independent charge) for textiles and handlooms, was elevated to cabinet rank.
   
In the run up to the reshuffle, agriculture minister Damodar Rout, sports minister Prabin Kumar Bhanj Deo and SC/ST minister Bijay Ranjan Singh Bariha resigned on the instruction of Patnaik.
   
With today's exercise, the ruling BJD government now has 22 ministers including the chief minister. Portfolios for the ministers were expected to be announced shortly, official sources said.