Chandigarh: Captain Amarinder Singh took oath as the 26th Chief Minister of Punjab on Thursday in a ceremony attended by senior Congress leaders, including former prime minister Manmohan Singh and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi.
Amarinder Singh was administered the oath by Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore at the Raj Bhavan.
The state can have a maximum of 18 ministers. The Congress has 77 MLAs in the Assembly.
Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore administering oath to new Punjab cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu at the Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh on Thursday. (PTI Photo)
Senior Congress leaders, including Sachin Pilot, Raj Babbar, Ambika Soni, Pawan Bandal and Ajay Maken, attended the ceremony.
Two days before the ceremony, the Punjab Congress had said it would be a simple affair as an austerity measure. "There will be nothing ostentatious about the oath-taking programme at the Raj Bhavan on Thursday morning, when Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore will administer the oath of office to Amarinder Singh as the new chief minister of the state," Punjab Congress had said on Tuesday.
Amarinder Singh had also urged all newly elected MLAs to keep their personal invitations to the bare minimum.
This is the second time that Singh takes oath as chief minister, having served in that capacity in 2002-2007.
Riding on strong anti-incumbency, the Congress stormed to power in Punjab after a gap of 10 years by winning 77 seats in the 117-Assembly seats of the Vidhan Sabha.
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