The Orissa Chief Minister J B Patnaik yesterday expanded his cabinet for the third time since coming to power nearly two-and-a-half years ago, inducting senior Congress leader Jagannath Patnaik and raising the strength of the council of ministers to 29.
Jagannath Patnaik, who is also the general secretary of the Pradesh Congress committee, was sworn-in as a cabinet minister in a ceremony by Governor G Ramanujam at the Raj Bhavan.
With the induction of Jagannath Patnaik, the strength of the cabinet has gone up to 16. There are 13 state ministers.
After the swearing-in ceremony, the Chief Minister told newsmen that Jagannath Patnaik would be allocated his portfolio later that day.
He said that he would effect major changes in the portfolios of ministers after the brief assembly session next month.
The new minister was a member of Nandini Satpathy and Binayak Acharya ministries in the mid-seventies. He was also a member of the Lok Sabha between 1980 and 1984 representing the Kalahandi constituency.
He was recently elected to the state assembly in a by-election from the Nuapada constituency.
Besides Chief Minister J B Patnaik, deputy chief minister B K Biswal, several ministers and senior officials were present at the swearing-in ceremony.
