Bhubaneswar: While in the last 24 years of Naveen Patnaik-led government, the districts of Cuttack and Kendrapara were never deprived of a minister’s post, the two districts have found no representation in the Council of Ministers of the first-ever BJP government in the State led by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi.
These districts were finding suitable representation in the Council of Ministers since the Naveen Patnaik led BJD-BJP coalition government from 2000 to before the 2009 elections and in every government thereafter.
BJP’s senior leader Samir Dey, BJD’s senior leaders Debi Prasad Mishra, Ranendra Pratap Swain, Pratap Jena and Chandrasarathi Behera have represented Cuttack district in the Council of Ministers at different points of time. This time BJP’s two MLAs and two BJP-supported independents have been elected from Cuttack district but the district has found no representation in the newly constituted Council of Ministers.
Prakash Sethi and Chhabi Mallik of the BJP have been elected in Cuttack district’s Sadar and Niali seats respectively. Similarly, BJP-supported Independents Bijay Dalabehera and Sarada Pradhan have been elected from Baramba and Mahanga seats respectively.
On the other hand, Kendrapara district has been deprived of a minister’s post for the first time in the last 24 years.
In the last 24 years, leaders from Kendrapara like Bed Prakash Agarwal, Pratap Deb, and Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak have held important portfolios in the Council of Ministers.
In Naveen Patnaik’s last Council of Ministers, there were two ministers Pratap Deb and Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak.
BJP’s lone MLA from Kendrapada district Durga Prasanna Nayak who defeated BJD’s Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak by a huge margin was expected to get a berth in the new Council of Ministers but it did not happen.
