Patnaik, who is all set to give a new look to his ministry before the 2024 elections to the Lok Sabha and Assembly, had asked the ministers to resign. This is for the first time in the political history of Odisha that all ministers were directed to quit
Naveen Patnaik. File Pic
In a bid to pave way for reshuffle of the ministry on Sunday, all 20 ministers of the Odisha government submitted their resignation letters as per the direction of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, officials said.
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Patnaik, who is all set to give a new look to his ministry before the 2024 elections to the Lok Sabha and Assembly, had asked the ministers to resign. This is for the first time in the political history of Odisha that all ministers were directed to quit.
Sources in the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) said that more than six of the 20 ministers who resigned are likely to be dropped from the new ministry.
Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal has been informed about the oath-taking ceremony which will be held on Sunday at the state secretariat, the Lok Seva Bhavan.
"The new ministers will take the oath of office at 11.45 am at a function to be held at the Convention Centre on the premises of the Lok Seva Bhavan on Sunday," a highly placed source in the Raj Bhavan told PTI.
Sources said that all ministers have submitted their resignation letters to Patnaik within 7 PM, following which some of the would-be ministers received phone calls to remain prepared for the oath-taking ceremony on Sunday.
Most of the phone calls were made from Naveen Niwas, the residence of the chief minister.
The ministry reshuffle will take place days after Patnaik completed three years in office in his fifth consecutive term as the chief minister of Odisha on May 29.
The ministry reshuffle process needs to be completed by Monday as the governor is scheduled to go outside Odisha after two days.
This apart, Patnaik is also scheduled to visit Rome and Dubai from June 20 and he wants to revamp the ministry before his departure, sources in the Chief Minister's Office said.
The ministry reshuffle exercise began a day after the ruling BJD won three Rajya Sabha seats and the by-poll in the Brajrajnagar assembly constituency.
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