Bhubaneswar, June 12 (FN Representative) Barring Deputy Chief Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, none of the 15 council of ministers including Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi who were sworn in on Wednesday, have any experience as Ministers in the state. Out of 16 ministers, only five including the Chief Minister were the members of the last assembly while the remaining eleven were the first timers who included even Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida who was elected to the Assembly from Nimapara Assembly seat. The new council of ministers of the BJP government is represented from 13 of the 30 districts, and four of them belonged to ST, two from SC and the remaining ten belonged to the general caste.
Region wise four ministers were from Western Odisha including Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo, three from South Odisha, and as many from the north Odisha including Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi. Highest number of six council of Ministers were from coastal Odisha who included Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida. Out of eight cabinet ministers,only two -Mukesh Mahaling and Nityananda Gond were the members of the last Assembly while the rest six were the new entrants.
Similarly, of the five ministers of state with independent charge who were sworn in today, two were members of the last Assembly while the rest three were debutantes. Two Deputy Chief Ministers were sworn in the state almost after a gap of 29 years. In 1995 during the Congress government headed by J B Pattnaik, two Deputy Chief Ministers – Basant Kumar Biswal and Hemananda Biswal were appointed for a brief period after J B Pattnaik was asked by the Congress High Command to step down from the post. While Basant Biswal remained as the Deputy Chief Minister from March 15, 1995 to February 17,1999, Hemananda Biswal served from March 15 ,1995 to May 9,1998. The new cabinet was represented from 13 districts of the state with two each from Ganjam and Mayurbhanj district while one each from Keonjhar, Jajpur, Jagatsinghpur, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Nabarangpur, Dhenkanal, Khordha, Bolangir, Bhadrak and Puri district.