Bhopal:Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister-designate Mohan Yadav has been sworn in as the Chief Minister, in a brief swearing-in ceremony organised at the state capital here.
He has been administered the oath of secrecy by Governor Mangubhai C Patel, at the Lal Parade Ground.
Jagdish Devda (MLA from Malhargarh in Mandsaur) and Rajendra Shukla (legislator from Rewa) were those who were sworn in as the deputies of Yadav.
The event was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the chief ministers of BJP-ruled states among others.
Before arriving for the oath taking ceremony, Yadav visited a temple in Bhopal and visited the state BJP office, where he paid his respects to Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, one of the founding members of the Jana Sangh, and Syama Prasad Mookerjee, the saffron party's founding ideologue.
Elaborate arrangements were made for the swearing-in ceremony.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, an alliance partner of the BJP, and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis, were also present.
A large number of Bharatiya Janata Party workers, especially from Yadav's hometown Ujjain, were present at the event.
Among others, former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan was seen waving at the crowd. Chouhan, who was credited with the party's victory, did not get the mantle to lead the state in what could have been a record fifth term in the hustings.
The saffron party picked Yadav as its choice ending days of speculation after the party romped back to power sweeping the entire state. As per the party highcommand's diktat, Yadav who has served as a minister under the Chouhan government was elected unanimously as the BJP legislative party leader during a meeting on Monday.
Yadav is seen as a close associate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and is from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) community , which accounts for more than 48 per cent of the state's population.
After he was elected as Chief Minister-designate on Monday, Yadav met the Governor and staked his claim to form the next government.
He was elected as MLA from Ujjain South seat for the first time in 2013, from where he has been returning to the State's Legislative Assembly in 2018 and 2023.
Party sources said senior leader and newly-elected MLA Narendra Singh Tomar, who was among contenders for the CM's post, is tipped to become the new assembly speaker.
The BJP drubbed Congress in the recently concluded Madhya Pradesh assembly elections by winning 163 of the 230 assembly seats in the state. The grand old party settled for a distant second with 66 seats.
