BHUBANESWAR: In an unprecedented move, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik asked his entire Cabinet to resign on Saturday, setting off speculations about the political game plan of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government ahead of the 2024 general elections.
A day after the Supreme Court judgement which went in favour of the Odisha Government in the Sri Jagannath Temple Heritage Corridor project, Naveen dropped the bomb by asking all his 20 ministers to tender their resignation. Even Speaker of Odisha Legislative Assembly Surjya Narayan Patra resigned.
Some of the incumbent ministers confirmed that they were asked to put in their papers while MLAs – new faces as well as old-timers – are reported to have received calls to stay put in Bhubaneswar. The swearing-in ceremony is likely to take place on Sunday at 11.45 am at Lok Seva Bhawan.
Sources though said Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal has not received any formal intimation from the Government yet. He is currently in Puri and will return to Bhubaneswar by evening.
This is the biggest ever overhaul affected by Naveen in his 22-year tenure as Chief Minister. While the Cabinet reshuffle was in the offing, the complete overhaul has taken his own party as well as political pundits completely by surprise, which in a way has been the signature style of the Biju Janata Dal boss. Political sources said the party was apparently waiting for the Supreme Court verdict on the Srimandir Parikrama Project as well as the Brajarajnagar by-poll result to affect the overhaul.
Speaker Surjya Narayan Patro’s resignation has fuelled speculation that he may be re-inducted as a cabinet minister or drafted for organisational work in the party. Most of the existing ministers, barring half a dozen of them, are unlikely to be considered for re-induction into the Cabinet. Some of the ministers will also be asked to give time for organisational work.
Sources said that the Chief Minister is going for a generational change in the Cabinet by inducting several new faces without any experience in the government. The ministry reshuffle was long pending because of the Covid pandemic followed by the Rajya Sabha elections and Brajrajnagar by-poll. While some of the ministers have been shown the door for putting the government in an embarrassing situation, some will be dropped for their lacklustre performance.
Ministers including Law and Panchayati Raj Minister Pratap Jena, Forest and Environment Bikram Keshari Arukha and Minister of State for Home Dibya Shankar Mishra were embroiled in controversies which showed the government in a poor light post the 2019 polls. Though the party and government supported the ministers during the crisis period, the party managers were looking for an opportune moment to drop them from the ministry.
Earlier on May 6, 2017, the Chief Minister had asked ten ministers out of the 20 in his cabinet to resign and concentrate on party work. Five of the ministers who had resigned had also been given district charge to prepare the party for the 2019 elections.
There was also rumbling in the party about the need to refurbish the image of the government before the 2024 election. Notwithstanding the BJD’s record-breaking performance in both the recently held panchayat and urban local body (ULB) election, it was felt that a new team should take over ahead of the general elections.