BHUBANESWAR: With the Mohan Charan Majhi government set to complete two years in office on June 12, state BJP president Manmohan Samal on Tuesday indicated that there is a likelihood of expansion of state cabinet before the second anniversary celebrations.
Speaking to mediapersons after paying floral tributes to Utkal Gourab Madhusudan Das on his 178th birth anniversary, Samal confirmed that discussions are ongoing with the central leadership on cabinet reshuffle. Six more ministers could be inducted, though no final decision has been taken despite multiple rounds of talks involving the chief minister and the party’s central leadership, he said.
Currently, 13 districts including Cuttack, Balasore, Kendrapara, Angul and Kalahandi lack ministerial representation while several others such as Balangir, Mayurbhanj and Ganjam have secured multiple berths. Party insiders said with the three-tier panchayati raj elections scheduled early next year, the party will have to do a delicate balancing act to ensure all regions are satisfied and do not feel alienated.
Outlining a series of administrative and political milestones the party aims to achieve before the second anniversary celebrations, the state BJP chief said all pending appointments to state-run corporations and boards will be finalised before the event. The delay in appointing chairpersons to various corporations and boards nearly two years into the government has triggered discontent among aspirants within the party.
Samal, however, said all the issues will be decided soon. The Special Development Councils have already been reconstituted and the State Planning Board has been revamped and renamed as the State Institute for Transformative Initiatives (SITI) to revive and revamp the planning system and accelerate the speed of development of the state. Government advocate appointments have been completed in the Supreme Court, the Orissa High Court and district courts across 29 districts, with Khurda being the only exception, he said.
Samal said, the second anniversary of the B JP government in Odisha will be celebrated in a grand manner. He also said that nearly 80 per cent of the promises made in the BJP manifesto have already been fulfilled, with the remaining on track for completion within the stipulated timeline.
