Prem Kumar Dhumal, who led BJP to a spectacular victory in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls, was on Sunday sworn in as chief minister of the state for the second time.
Governor V S Kokje administered the oath of office and secrecy to the 63-year-old BJP leader at a public ceremony at the historic Ridge Maidan here.
Dhumal, an English professor-turned-politician, was unanimously elected leader of the Himachal BJP Legislature Party here on Saturday. A three-time MLA who headed the BJP government in Himachal for the first time from 1998 to 2003, Dhumal is the 16th Chief Minister of the state since it was formed in 1971.
BJP stalwart L K Advani, party Vice-Presidents Shanta Shanta and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Chief Ministers of Punjab, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan — P S Badal, B C Khanduri and Vasundhra Raje respectively — attended the swearing-in function. Neither outgoing CM Virbhadra Singh nor any other Congress leader was present on the occasion. Breaking from the past tradition, Dhumal took the oath at a public function at the Ridge Maidan amid shouts of Jai Shri Ram.
