Jai Ram Thakur takes oath as Himachal CM

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Jai Ram Thakur took oath as the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday at the Ridge Maidan here.

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 of Jai Ram Thakur at the historic Ridge Maidan in Shimla at 11 AM.

Governor Acharya Devvrat administered the oath of office and secrecy to Thakur, who is turning 53 on January 6. This will be his maiden term as Chief Minister.

The swearing-in ceremony was held amid beating of drums and playing of 'shehnais' at the



historic Ridge with Union Ministers and Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states in attendance, along with more than 30,000 party supporters from across the state, mostly dressed up in traditional 

Thakur's family members, comprising his 80-year-old widowed mother, who belonged to a remote village in Mandi district, attended the ceremony.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.