The Bharatiya Janata Party’s five-time MLA Jairam Thakur on Wednesday took oath as the chief minister of Himachal Pradesh. On December 18, the BJP had won 44 out of 68 seats in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly, unseating the Congress.
BJP MLAs Mahendra Singh, Kishan Kapoor, Suresh Bhardwaj, Anil Sharma, Sarveen Choudhary Ram Lal Markanda, Virender Kanwar and Vikram Singh also took oath as Cabinet ministers, ANI reported.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah attended Wednesday’s swearing-in ceremony, which took place at the historic Ridge Maidan in Shimla. The ceremony was also attended by several Union ministers and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states.
In its first meeting later in the day, the new Cabinet decided to review decisions made by the Virbhadra Singh-led Congress government in the last six months, ANI reported. The Cabinet also reduced the age of eligibility for getting social security pensions from 80 years to 70 years.
Thakur was appointed the leader of the BJP Legislature Party in Himachal Pradesh on December 25 after former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal lost his seat from his constituency. Thakur’s name was proposed by Dhumal and seconded by party leaders JP Nadda and Shanta Kumar.
On December 23, supporters of Dhumal had protested outside the venue of a BJP meeting in Shimla when central observers were discussing the appointment of new chief minister.
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