Jai Ram Thakur sworn in as Himachal Pradesh CM, 11 others take oath as ministers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the swearing-in ceremony.

Image: New HP CM Jai Ram Thakur takes oath on Wednesday 27 December, 2017.

New Delhi: Jai Ram Thakur took oath as the  14th Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, on Wednesday in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah, veteran LK Advani and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh at the Ridge maidan in Shimla 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 attires. Thakur's family members, comprising his 80-year-old widowed mother, who belonged to a remote village in Mandi district, attended the ceremony. Before oath taking he told news agency ANI, "People have shown faith in us, will try to meet their expectations." 11 ministers along with the CM also took oath.  LATEST UPDATES:

• 11 other ministers who took oath are: Mahender Singh Thakur, Kishan Kapoor, Suresh Bharadwaj, Anil Sharma, Sarveen Chaudhary, Ram Lal Markandey, Vipin Parmar, Virender Kanwar, Vikram Singh, Govind Singh Thakur and Dr. Rajeev Sejal.
• Jairam Thakur takes oath as 14th Himachal Pradesh CM
• PM Modi reaches the Ridge maidan venue

Ridge ground in #Shimla all geared up for the swearing in ceremony of CM elect #JairamThakur and others #HimachalPradesh pic.twitter.com/scV19gKy3k

— ANI (@ANI) December 27, 2017

#JairamThakur to take oath as the Chief Minister of #HimachalPradesh, today; people start gathering at the venue of the swearing-in ceremony in Shimla pic.twitter.com/41UtYvLjHy — ANI (@ANI) December 27, 2017

Who is Jai Ram Tahkur? Five-time legislator Thakur, who rose through the ranks and is known for his humble, clean and low-profile nature, ahead of the ceremony said his top priorities would be restoring law and order situation, to do away with the VIP culture, to review all decisions of the previous Congress government in past three months and to minimise wasteful expenditure.

• Thakur was announced as the new Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, on Sunday.
• "Himachal is now Congress mukt," Thakur had said after being chosen as CM of the state.
• MLAs had decided his name in a meeting today. The name of Union Health Minister JP Nadda was also doing rounds.
• Jai Ram Thakur is an MLA in Himachal Pradesh Assembly since 1998 and previously served as Cabinet Minister in BJP Government of the state.
• Thakur was Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj from 2007-2012. He is elected to Himachal Pradesh Assembly from Seraj in Mandi.
• Thakur won from Seraj constituency by defeating Chet Ram of the Congress.
• The defeat of the BJP's chief ministerial candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal from Sujanpur had opened up the race for the top post in Himachal Pradesh.
• Interestingly, a section was favouring Dhumal claiming the state elections were won under his leadership and BJP MLA from Kutlehar, Varinder Kanwar, had already offered to vacate his seat for former CM.

The results for Himachal elections were declared on 18 December 2017 and BJP won with majority. (With agency inputs)