Raje to take oath today

Chief minister-elect of Rajasthan, Vasundhara Raje, will alone take oath of office at a grand ceremony in front of the state assembly building in Janpath on Friday.

Cabinet expansion may be delayed in order to ward off an “inauspicious period” from December 15 to January 14, it is said. Senior leaders, including party president Rajnath Singh, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and party patriarch L K Advani will attend the swearing-in ceremony.

Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh and chief minister-elect of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan would be in Jaipur on Friday to witness Raje taking the oath. Raje was in Chhattisgarh on Thursday to attend the swearing-in of Raman Singh for the third consecutive term as chief minister.
 
Senior leaders of the party, including Onkar Singh Lekhawat, Gulab Chand Kataria and Bhupendra Yadav, took stock of the preparations at the North Gate of the assembly and Janpath.

Though Raje’s ministers will not be taking oath on Friday, she is holding discussions with senior leaders on deciding the cabinet.

Preparations have been in full swing for the last three days at the Janpath for the event swathed in tight security.