BJP's Pushkar Singh Dhami took oath as chief minister of Uttarakhand for a second term at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Dhami was elected leader of the BJP legislature party in Uttarakhand on Monday, ending speculation of who would take up the reins this time.
Along with him, eight ministers were sworn in at Dehradun's Parade Ground, of which five of them will serve a second consecutive term. Satpal Maharaj, Subodh Uniyal, Dhan Singh Rawat, Rekha Arya and Ganesh Joshi retained their places in the cabinet while the newcomers were Chandan Ram Das, Saurabh Bahuguna and Prem Chand Aggarwal.
Dhami was given a second term despite losing his own seat, Khatima, in the state elections held last month. The announcement of him leading the party was made after the legislature party meeting in Dehradun helmed by Union minister Rajnath Singh and senior BJP leader Meenakshi Lekhi.
The party leaders are said to have decided to stick with Dhami as the chief minister to avoid a split in the state leadership.
Ahead of the swearing-in ceremony, Dhami offered prayers at Tapkeshwar Mahadev temple in Dehradun.
The BJP won 47 seats in the 70-member assembly in the elections, making it the first party to retain power in Uttarakhand's 21-year history.
