BJPleader Pushkar Singh Dhami was on Sunday sworn-in as the 11th Chief Minister ofUttarakhand.
GovernorBaby Rani Maurya administered the oath to him and 11 others ministers at afunction in Raj Bhavan in Dehradun.
Thenew ministers are Satpal Maharaj, Harak Singh Rawat, Bansidhar Bhagat, YashpalArya, Bishan Singh Chupal, Subodh Uniyal, Arvind Pandey, Ganesh Joshi, DhanSingh Rawat, Rekha Arya, and Yatishwaranand. All were also part of the previousTirath Singh Rawat government.
Asper constitutional provisions, the Uttarakhand cabinet can have maximum 12ministers including the Chief Minister.
Theswearing-in of Dhami and his ministers has also put to rest all speculations ofrebellion by senior leaders Satpal Maharaj, Harak Singh Rawat and others overthe election of Dhami.
Also,hours before swearing-in ceremony, Harak Singh Rawat, Arya, and Chupal said thatthere is no in-fighting and swearing-in of Dhami cabinet will be held as perschedule in the evening.
Dhamiwas elected Chief Minister at the meeting of the BJP's legislative party inDehradun on Saturday. The meeting was held in the presence of Centralobservers, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and BJP nationalGeneral Secretary D. Purandeswari. The party's in-charge for Uttarakhand,Dushyant Gautam, was also present.
Hereplaces Tirath Singh Rawat, who late on Friday evening submitted hisresignation to the Governor, as he was unlikely to be elected to the stateAssembly by the stipulated period.
Atwo-time MLA from Khatima constituency in Udham Singh Nagar district, Dhami,45, was active in student politics and held different positions in RSS studentwing ABVP for almost a decade. He has also served as the President of the stateBJP youth wing.
Dhami,however, has never held any ministerial position in the past.