Rahul, Priyanka give bear hug to CM Sukhu's mother at swearing in ceremony

Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, the son of a bus driver and four-time Congress MLA, was sworn in as the 15th Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh at a ceremony attended by senior party leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday. Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar administered the oath of office and secrecy to Sukhu (58) and Mukesh Agnihotri (60), the leader of the opposition in the outgoing assembly, who will be the state's first Deputy Chief Minister. Sansar Dei, the mother of Himachal's new Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, also attended the swearing-in ceremony. This is the third Congress government in states across the country after Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, and both their Chief Ministers -- Bhupesh Baghel and Ashok Gehlot -- joined party president Mallikarjun Kharge at the oath-taking ceremony at the historic Ridge ground in Shimla. Former Union minister Anand Sharma, former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Congress Himachal Pradesh affairs in-charge Rajeev Shukla, state Congress chief Pratibha Singh and senior leader Sachin Pilot were also present. Earlier, Sukhu went to the Holly Lodge, the residence of Pratibha Singh, to invite her to the venue, and said the "first invitation" was given to her. Rahul Gandhi posed for a photograph with Pratibha Singh and her MLA son Vikramaditya Singh.