Bikram Keshari Arukha is new Odisha finance minister as Naveen Patnaik rejigs cabinet

BHUBANESWAR: With less than a year to go for next year's Lok Sabha and assembly elections, chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday brought back three former ministers into the cabinet, assigning them key portfolios.
Bikram Keshari Arukha, who resigned as assembly speaker recently, was made finance minister.
Sudam Marndi became the school and mass education minister while Sarada Prasad Nayak took over as labour minister.
The re-induction of Arukha, a six-time MLA representing Bhanjanagar, less than a year after he had quit the cabinet to become assembly speaker, seems like a strategic move aimed at consolidating the BJD in its stronghold of Ganjam, Naveen's home district. Known for his organisational skills, the soft-spoken Arukha is likely to head the party's political activities in the district.
Arukha took over the finance department from Niranajn Pujari as the latter had three important portfolios of finance, health and parliamentary affairs with him. "I will discharge my responsibilities to the best of my knowledge and commitment for progress of Odisha's economy," said Arukha, who has earlier served as minister of rural development, law, forest and environment and parliamentary affairs, among others.
Marndi replaces Dash as school & mass edu minister
Marndi, who returned to the cabinet as school and mass education minister, filling in for Samir Dash, who resigned earlier this month, used to be revenue minister till June last year.
The five-time tribal MLA, representing Bangiriposi in Mayurbhanj, will have the responsibility of improving the BJD's performance in the district where the party had won three of the nine assembly seats in 2019 and had lost the Lok Sabha poll.
Sarada, the new labour minister, was rewarded for his excellent work at the recent Jharsuguda byelection as district observer. Another factor which worked in his favour is that Sundargarh had no representation in the cabinet. The party is keen to improve its tally in the tribal-dominated western Odisha district. Of the seven assembly seats in Sundargarh, BJD won only two and lost the Lok Sabha seat to BJP. Sarada is a three-time Rourkela MLA.