Bhubaneshwar, July 18: The Odisha government has appointed Cuttack district collector Arindam Dakua as private secretary to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, according to an official statement.

Similarly, the government has appointed Jagatsinghpur district collector Anupam Shah as an additional secretary to the CM, the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said in a post on X on Wednesday.

ମୁଖ୍ୟମନ୍ତ୍ରୀଙ୍କ କାର୍ଯ୍ୟାଳୟ, ଓଡ଼ିଶା | ୧୭ ଜୁଲାଇ, ୨୦୨୪

କଟକ ଜିଲ୍ଲାପାଳ ଶ୍ରୀ ଅରିନ୍ଦମ ଡାକୁଆ ମୁଖ୍ୟମନ୍ତ୍ରୀଙ୍କ ବ୍ୟକ୍ତିଗତ ସଚିବ ଭାବେ ନିଯୁକ୍ତି ପାଇଛନ୍ତି।

ସେହିପରି ଜଗତସିଂହପୁର ଜିଲ୍ଲାପାଳ ଶ୍ରୀ ଅନୁପମ ଶାହାଙ୍କୁ ମୁଖ୍ୟମନ୍ତ୍ରୀଙ୍କ ଅତିରିକ୍ତ ସଚିବ ଭାବେ ନିଯୁକ୍ତି ଦିଆ ଯାଇଛି।
— CMO Odisha (@CMO_Odisha) July 17, 2024

"Cuttack District Collector Shri Arindam Dakua has been appointed as the Chief Minister's Private Secretary. Similarly, Jagatsinghpur District Collector Anupam Shah has been appointed as Additional Secretary to the Chief Minister," the post read.

Meanwhile, the opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Wednesday formed a group of 50 elected members to keep a watch on the performance of different departments of the recently formed BJP-led Odisha government.

The BJD has assigned responsibilities to its elected members to play the role of a strong opposition.

"The opposition party is the watchdog of public interest. Biju Janata Dal, as the opposition party, will keep a close watch on the performance of various departments of the state government. For this, the leader of the opposition Mr. @Naveen_OdishaBiju Janata Dal has given responsibility to 50 elected members as per the schedule below," the party said in a post on X.

Notably, in the recent state assembly elections, the BJD won 51 out of 147 seats, while the BJP secured a majority by winning 78 seats. In the 18th Lok Sabha elections too, the BJD faced a significant setback, failing to secure any of the 21 seats, while the BJP won 20 seats and Congress managed to win one seat.

The Biju Janata Dala, which has ruled Odisha since 1997, lost to the BJP, breaking the 24-year-old reign of Naveen Patnaik as the Chief Minister.

VK Pandian, a former bureaucrat and close aide to Ex-Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, has stepped back from active politics after the party's electoral loss. (ANI)

Read More Odisha News

Argus English | argus english | Odisha Latest News, Breaking News, Trending News, Live TV