Jaipur: Vasundhara Raje, who led BJP to a landslide victory in Rajasthan Assembly polls, was sworn-in as the Chief Minister for the second time in the presence of Narendra Modi and other top party leaders on Friday.
60-year-old Raje, who belongs to the royal Scindia family of Gwalior, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Margaret Alva during a grand swearing-in ceremony inside the Assembly building premises here. She was the only one to be sworn-in.
Among the BJP leaders who attended the function were party president Rajnath Singh, its Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh and other senior leaders of the party.
Elected MLAs and a large number of religious heads also attended the function. The main stage for the ceremony was erected inside the Assembly building premises. Large screens were installed at the venue to allow the invitees sitting at a distance to watch the live telecast of the ceremony.
After the swearing-in function, Raje drove straight to the Chief Minister's Office at the Secretariat. BJP won 162 of the 199 seats where elections were held. Polling in Churu seat in the 200-member House was postponed due to the death of a BSP candidate and it is being held on Friday.
Wearing orange colour sari, Raje took blessings from religious heads and greeted Rajnath Singh, Modi, Advani, her predecessor Ashok Gehlot and others present on the stage before being sworn in as the Chief Minister.
As Raje's predecessor Ashok Gehlot came on the stage, he was warmly welcomed and hugged by BJP's prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi which was welcomed by a huge applause from the gathering. In the oath ceremony, several religious heads from various places including Delhi and Rohtak also participated.
The Governor after administering the oath congratulated the new chief minister. Raje later greeted people and met others gathered in the Assembly premises for the swearing-in ceremony.
