Patnaik congratulates newly sworn-in ministers Pradhan,Sarangi

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Friday congratulated two BJP leaders from the state, Dharmendra Pradhan and Pratap Sarangi, who were sworn in as Union ministers.

The chief minister expressed hope that both the leaders will live up to the aspirations of the people and present the voice of Odisha at the Centre.

"Congratulate @dpradhanbjp ji and @pcsarangi ji on being sworn in as Union ministers. Wish you success in living upto the aspirations of every single Indian and presenting the voice of #Odisha at Center," Patnaik tweeted.

Pradhan, who took oath of office as a cabinet minister on Thursday, was inducted into the Modi government for the second term.

Balasore MP, Pratap Sarangi, was sworn-in as a minister of state for the first time.

Pradhan, a Rajya Sabha member from Madhya Pradesh, retained the portfolio of the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, while also being allotted the Steel Ministry.

Sarangi became a minister of state (MOS) in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and the Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries.

Sarangi won from Balasore Lok Sabha constituency defeating BJD candidate and industrialist Rabindra Jena by a margin of 12,956 votes in the recently concluded elections.

Sarangi, a two-time Independent MLA from Nilagiri Assembly constituency in Balasore district in 2004 and 2009, had contested unsuccessfully as the BJP candidate in 2014 Lok Sabha polls.