Jairam Thakur takes oath as Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister; PM Modi, Rajnath Singh attend grand ceremony

BJP leader Jairam Thakur took oath as the chief minister of Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP president Amit Shah, former deputy Prime Minister LK Advani and several Union ministers and chief ministers attended the swearing-in ceremony at the historic Ridge Maidan in Shimla.

Governor Aacharya Devvrat administered the oath of office and secrecy to Thakur. Along with Thakur, a few MLA also took oath as Cabinet Ministers today. The five-time BJP MLA from Seraj constituency of the hilly state was elected to lead the state after the party's chief ministerial candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal failed to register a win from his constituency.

The BJP have ousted the Congress from power in Himachal Pradesh by winning 44 out of the 68 seats in the recently held Assembly polls.

Along with many senior leaders and workers of BJP state unit, thousands of people also witnessed the swearing-in ceremony.

For the first time in the history of the state, Prime Minister will attend an oath taking ceremony.

Massive security and other arrangements have been made for the grand function. Besides seating arrangements, eight to ten LED screens were installed outside the venue. SPG is overseeing the security arrangements.

Union Health Minister JP Nadda, Former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, Incharge for Party Affairs Mangal Pandey had reviewed the arrangements in Ridge Maidan on Tuesday.