BHUBANESWAR: A reshuffle in the Odisha cabinet is likely after the Budget Session of the State Assembly which will continue till April 7.
Though talks on ministry reshuffle had gained ground after the unimpressive performance of the BJD in the panchayat polls, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday gave positive indications of the changes.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who returned from a six-day visit of New Delhi, did not rule out the possibility of changes in the ministry. When asked about the chances of the reshuffle, Naveen said, "We will look into the matter and decide what is to be done."
Asked whether the possible reshuffle would take place after the budget session of the assembly, the chief minister said, "Well, I just said that we will look into the matter and decide what is to be done."
The ruling BJD president's statement this time was significant as earlier on several ocassions, Naveen used to say that he was yet to think about the matter of reshuffle.
Sources said fate of several ministers in whose constituencies performance of BJD was not upto mark will be dropped. Besides, several other ministers who landed the party and government in difficult situation for different reasons are also likely to be changed.
While BJD was wiped out in Kalahandi and Mayurbhanj districts, in Rayagada district it was lagging behind the Congress. Several other ministers have also become unpopular in their constituencies as was evident from the results of the panchayat polls.
However, action at both the ministry and party level will be initiated only after a review of the panchayat poll performance of the BJD. Asked about review of the BJD's panchayat poll performance, Naveen said, "We have already started the process."
Though BJD emerged victorious in 473 Zila Parishad (ZP) zones, out of 846 zones for which elections were held, the BJP won 297 zones. The BJP which gave a tough challenge to BJD, improved its performance from 36 seats it had won in 2012 polls.