The green shawl was back on the shoulder of Bookanakere Siddalingappa Yeddyurappa as he took oath as Karnataka’s 23rd Chief Minister at Raj Bhavan on Thursday morning.

The green shawl is symbolic of his commitment towards farmers and he wore it when he was sworn-in as Chief Minister in 2008. This will be Yeddyurappa’s third stint as Chief Minister, with the first one lasting barely a week in 2007.

Governor Vajubhai R Vala administered Yeddyurappa the oath, which he took in the name of God and farmers. Yeddyurappa’s swearing-in ceremony was held amid chants of ‘Modi, Modi” and pro-BJP sloganeering inside Raj Bhavan’s glass house.

Before heading to Raj Bhavan, 75-year-old Yeddyurappa visited the Radhakrishna temple at Sanjaynagar where he offered special prayers amid Vedic hymns and music.

He was accompanied by his sons B Y Raghavendra and B Y Vijayendra, senior party leaders D V Sadananda Gowda, Prakash Javadekar and
P Muralidhar Rao.

Later, while addressing his first press conference after being sworn-in, Yeddyurappa “heartily thanked” the
6.5 crore people of Karnataka, specifically mentioning farmers, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and OBCs for their support. “It is the trust they have in me and my party, because of which I have become Chief Minister for the third time,” he said.

“Despite the support I and my party have from the people of the state, the Congress and JD(S) have entered into an unholy alliance to snatch power,” he said. “I’m 100% confident I will succeed.”