Raghubar Das to become Jharkhand CM Sunday

Jharkhand will get its first non-tribal chief minister Sunday when BJP leader Raghubar Das, elected leader of the state legislature party Friday, will take oath.

Das, a five-time legislator from East Jamshedpur, will be the 10th chief minister of Jharkhand. He will take oath at 11 a.m.

The swearing in ceremony will take place at Ranchi's Morabadi ground, the Bharatiya Janata Party said.

According to BJP sources, Prime Miniter Narendra Modi, party president Amit Shah and chief ministers of some of the BJP-ruled states will attend the event.

After getting elected as party leader, Das along with the BJP ally, the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU), met Governor Syed Ahmad at Raj Bhawan at 4 p.m. and staked claim to form a government.

The governor accepted the claim and invited him to form a government.

Das told reporters that Jharkhand's economic development would be his priority.

"All sections, including tribals, minorities and others, are on the agenda of development," he said.

Earlier, BJP legislators met at the party headquarters here in the presence of central observers J.P. Nadda and Vinay Sharsabuddhe to elect a leader in the state legislature.

Neelkanth Singh Munda proposed the name of Das, which was seconded by two BJP legislators, C.P. Singh and Saryu Rai.

Das then told the media: "The development of the state is my priority. The development of all sections of the society will be my priority."

The BJP-AJSU alliance won a clear majority in the 81-member assembly. The BJP emerged as the single largest party with 37 seats while the AJSU bagged five seats in the 81-seat assembly.