Himachal Pradesh got a new Chief Minister on Wednesday with the swearing-in of 52-year-old Jai Ram Thakur in a grand ceremony in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President Amit Shah and the Chief Ministers of the BJP ruled States.
The presence of Modi among other dignitaries and political big wigs at the historic Ridge ground made the swearing-in ceremony a grand political affair. This was the first time when a Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh took oath in the presence of the Prime Minister of India.
The five-time MlA from Seraj constituency in Mandi, Thakur took the oath amid cheering from a large gathering at the historic Ridge. The Governor of Himachal Pradesh, Acharya Devvrat, administered the oath of office and secrecy to the new Chief Minister. He also administered oath to 11 other MlAs as Cabinet Ministers of the State.
The 11 other Ministers sworn in on Wednesday include Mahender Singh Thakur from Dharampur Assembly constituency, Kishan Kapoor from Dharamshala Assembly constituency, Suresh Bhardwaj from Shimla Urban Assembly constituency, Anil Sharma from Mandi Sadar Assembly constituency, Sarveen Chaudhary the only lady Minister from Shahpur Assembly constituency, Ram lal Markanda from lahaul-Spiti Assembly constituency, Vipin Singh Parmar from Sulah Assembly constituency, Virender Kanwar from Kutlehar Assembly constituency, Bikram Singh from Jaswan Pragpur Assembly constituency, Govind Singh Thakur from Manali Assembly constituency and Dr. Rajiv Saizal from Kasauli Assembly constituency.
Thakur had emerged as the choice of party after the BJP’s CM candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal lost election from Sujanpur constituency in the assembly elections.
The new cabinet announced on Wednesday has a mix of youth and experienced leaders. The names Mohinder Singh, Suresh Bhardwaj, Anil Sharma, Kishan Kapoor, Ram lal Markanda were on expected lines. But the party core group has also inducted Govind Thakur, Dr Rajiv Sejal, Virender Kanwar, Bikaram Thakur, and Vipin Parmar for the first time in the cabinet. Sarveen Chaudhry, has been picked as the sole woman minister in the cabinet.
The non-inclusion of Rajeev Bindal, another five-time MlA and former minister, surprised all. Soon after the swearing in, he was announced as the Speaker of the new House. Narinder Bragta, MlA from Jubbal-Kotkhai and Ramesh Dhwala from Jawaliji, both former ministers, could not find a place in the new cabinet.
In the gallery of VVIPs, along with the Prime Minister, BJP president Amit Shah, along with former Deputy Prime Minister lK Advani was present.
Others present included, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Union Health Minister JP Nadda besides Chief Minister of Haryana Manohar lal Khatar, Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath, Mahrashtra Devender Gangadhar Fadnavis, Assam Sarbananda Sonowal, Arunachal Pradesh Pema Khandu, Deputy CM of J& K Nirmal Singh, Deputy CMs of UP Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dr Dinesh Sharma and Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi, former Chief Minister Shanta Kumar, Prem Kumar Dhumal were among the dignitaries, who attended the ceremony.