Naveen Patnaik on Friday took oath as Chief Minister of Orissa, becoming the first politician to hold the post for three consecutive terms in the state.

Naveen (62), who demolished the opposition Congress and BJP in the election with 103 seats in the 147-member Assembly, was sworn in with a team of 11 Cabinet and nine Ministers of State on the lawns of Raj Bhavan. Though the excitement visible after his first win in 2000 was missing, the Raj Bhavan lawns were choc-a-bloc with BJD supporters.

Governor Murlidhar Chandrakant Bhandare administered the oath of office and secrecy to the new ministry. The portfolios of the new ministers are expected to be announced on Thursday night.

Though Naveen repeated some old faces in the new ministry, he took care to induct young leaders as well as legislators who have not hopped parties. As is the tradition in Orissa politics, three royal family members—

A U Singh Deo of Bolangir, Praveen Chandra Bhanja Deo of Mayurbhanj and Pushpendra Singh Deo of the Jaypatna royal families — have also found berths in the council of ministers.

Though Naveen has tried to work out a regional balance, he has left 13 of the 30 districts unrepresented, inducting 11 ministers from the coastal districts where BJD won 71 of the 77 Assembly seats. There are two women faces in Pramilla Mallick and first-timer Anjani Behera.

Naveen, who asked his MLAs to get down to work without wasting any time, has a tough road ahead as he has to tackle the Maoist menace that is threatening to engulf the entire state. Already 15 of the 30 districts are facing the heat from Naxalites.

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