Newly appointed Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has allocated portfolios to his ministers, retaining key departments for himself after assuming office on June 12.
Majhi, who also holds the Home, General Administration and Public Grievances, Information and Public Relations, Water Resources, Planning, and Convergence portfolios, distributed responsibilities among his team.
Deputy Chief Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo will oversee Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment along with the Energy Department.
Pravati Parida, the state’s first woman deputy chief minister, takes charge of Women and Child Development, Mission Shakti, and Tourism.
Other assignments include Suresh Pujari for Revenue and Disaster Management, Rabi Narayan Naik for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, and Nityanand Gond for School and Mass Education.
Health and Family Welfare falls under Mukesh Mahaling’s purview, while Prithviraj Harichandan will manage Law, Works, and Excise. Krushna Chandra Patra oversees Food Suppliers and Consumer Welfare along with Science and Technology.
The portfolios were assigned based on the chief minister’s recommendations following the swearing-in of eight ministers and five Ministers of State.
The BJP secured 78 seats in the 147-seat assembly, marking its first government in Odisha after ending the Biju Janata Dal’s 24-year rule.
Majhi, 52, from the Santali tribe in Keonjhar district, began his political career as a sarpanch in 1997 and has been a member of the state assembly since 2000. He retained his seat in the recent elections with an 11,577-vote margin over his BJD opponent.