Former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh activist Trivendra Singh Rawat took oath as Uttarakhand’s chief minister on Saturday. He took oath along with his Cabinet colleagues – Satpal Maharaj, Prakash Pant, Harak Singh Rawat and Madan Kaushik, among others. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah attended the swearing-in ceremony at Dehradun’s Parade Ground.
Rawat was elected Bharatiya Janata Party’s legislative leader on Friday. He had won the Assembly elections from Doiwala. The BJP had secured 57 of the state’s 70 seats when Assembly election results were declared on March 11.
Rawat is the eighth chief minister of the state that was formed in 2000. Of the many tasks in hand, Rawat said his top priority would be to eradicate poverty. “I am grateful that the BJP legislature party has given me this responsibility,” he said, according to The Indian Express.
Rawat is believed to be close to Amit Shah. The 56-year-old was one of the three deputies Shah worked with in Uttar Pradesh before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. He served the RSS from 1983 to 2002 and is currently the BJP’s party in-charge in Jharkhand. He is credited for BJP’s win in Jharkhand in 2014.
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