chandigarh, Oct 17

OBC leader Nayab Singh Saini on Thursday took oath as the chief minister of Haryana at a ceremony in Panchkula attended by a galaxy of NDA leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and thousands of people from across the state.

Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya administered the oath of office and secrecy to Saini, who became the chief minister for the second time, at Dussehra ground here.

 Saini took oath in Hindi.

 The BJP's choice of the day for the swearing-in ceremony is significant as it is Valmiki Jayanti. Sage-poet Valmiki is the author of the Hindu epic Ramayana and a revered figure, especially among Dalits.

 Ambala Cantt MLA and senior most party leader Anil Vij, Israna MLA Krishan Lal Panwar, Badshahpur MLA and Ahir leader Rao Narbir Singh, Panipat Rural MLA and Jat leader Mahipal Dhanda, Faridabad MLA Vipul Goel, Gohana MLA Arvind Sharma, Radaur MLA Shyam Singh Rana, Barwala MLA Ranbir Gangwa and Narwana legislator Kumar Bedi took oath as ministers.

 Two women MLAs, ”Tosham legislator Shruti Choudhary and Ateli MLA Arti Singh Rao, were also sworn in as ministers.

Shruti is the daughter of Rajya Sabha MP Kiran Choudhary while Rao, a first-time MLA, is the daughter of Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh.

Tigaon MLA Rajesh Nagar and Palwal MLA Gaurav Gautam took oath as state ministers (independent charge).

All newly inducted ministers except Choudhary took oath in Hindi. Choudhary took oath in English. Each MLA greeted PM Modi after taking oath.

Haryana can have a maximum of 14 ministers, including the chief minister.

Several leaders including Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari and Chirag Paswan, and BJP president J P Nadda attended the ceremony and were seated on the stage.

Chief ministers of a number of BJP-ruled states also attended the ceremony.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami were among those present.

Massive security arrangements were made for the ceremony.

Hours before the ceremony, Saini visited Valmiki Bhawan and offered prayers at a gurdwara and the Mansa Devi temple in Panchkula.

 He told reporters that the new BJP government will work towards taking Haryana forward at a rapid pace under the leadership of PM Modi.

The people of Haryana have shown faith in the Modi government's policies, he said on the assembly poll results.

Replying to a question, Saini said the BJP's 'Sankalp Patra' (poll manifesto) will be fully implemented.

"Look at our 2014 Sankalp Patra and 2019 Sankalp Patra, we implemented them completely and now this Sankalp Patra will also be implemented by our government," he said.

In the recently concluded assembly polls, the BJP secured an unprecedented third term in Haryana, winning 48 seats in the 90-member assembly. Three Independents, including Hisar MLA Savitri Jindal, have also extended support to the party.

Saini, 54, was unanimously elected as the leader of the BJP legislature party in a meeting held at the party office in Panchkula on Wednesday.

In a departure from tradition, the BJP had declared that Saini would remain chief minister if the party returned to power in Haryana after the assembly polls.

Saini, an OBC face of the party, had replaced Manohar Lal Khattar as the chief minister of Haryana in March. He won the Ladwa assembly seat in Kurukshetra district by a margin of 16,054 votes. -PTI