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A Bharatiya Janata Party leader, five-time BJP MLA and former Minister Shri Jai Ram Thakur took oath as the new Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh on 27 December, 2017. The swearing-in ceremony of BJP MLA from Seraj constituency took place at the historic Ridge Maidan in Shimla in the presence of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and BJP National President Shri Amit Shah.
Among others, former Deputy Prime Minister Shri LK Advani, Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh, Union minister Shri J P Nadda, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, Maharashtra CM Shri Devendra Fadnavis; and Haryana CM Shri Manohar Lal Khattar—attended the event. Several Union Ministers and other senior leaders also attended the ceremony.
Shri Thakur along with his 11 ministers took the oath of secrecy from Governor Shri Acharya Devvrat. It was for the first time that a prime minister attended an oath-taking ceremony in the hill state.
52-year-old Shri Thakur, known as a gentle leader who has always shunned the limelight, become the Chief Ministerial candidate in the assembly elections, which was swept by the party. Noteworthy, the BJP got maximum seats this time, had won 20 seats in Kangra and Mandi districts and also won 13 out of 17 seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and two out of three Scheduled Tribe seats.
Shri Thakur had earlier served as minister from 2009 to 2012. He was state BJP chief from 2006 to 2009. Shri Jai Ram is the first Chief Minister from the second largest Mandi district and the 14th chief minister and sixth person to adorn the office of the chief minister in Himachal Pradesh.
Five of eleven Ministers sworn into the Cabinet are former ministers: seven-time MLA from Dharampur Mahender Singh; Dharamshala MLA Kishan Kapoor; and four-time MLA from Kangra’s Shahpur Smt. Sarveen Chaudhary were part of the BJP government under Shri Dhumal. Anil Sharma, formerly a minister in the Congress government and Ram Lal Markanday, a minister in the BJP-Himachal Vikas Congress combine regime in 1998 were also sworn in.
First-time ministers in Shri Thakur’s Cabinet are Vipin Parmar, an MLA from Kangra’s Sulah; Virender Kanwar from Una’s Kutlehar; Vikram Singh from Jaswan Pragpur; Govind Thakur, an MLA from Manali; and Rajiv Sejal, a lawmaker from Kasauli, and Shimla MLA Suresh Bhardwaj.
Two ministers, Suresh Bhardwaj and Govind Thakur took oath in Sanskrit, while the others chose Hindi.
The BJP has ousted the Congress from power in Himachal by winning 44 out of the 68 seats in the recently held Assembly polls.
@narendramodi
Congratulations to Shri Jairam Thakur and all those who took oath today. I am confident this team will work tirelessly and serve the people of Himachal Pradesh with exceptional diligence.
@AmitShah
Congratulations to the newly sworn in Chief Minister of Himachal Shri @jairamthakurbjp ji and his cabinet. I am sure BJP government in the state under the guidance of PM Shri @narendramodi ji will leave no stone unturned to restore the pride of Devbhoomi Himachal.
@arunjaitley
Congratulations to Shri #JaiRamThakur ji on being sworn in the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. My best wishes to him and his council of ministers for a fruitful tenure.
HIGHLIGHTS
The swearing-in ceremony of the 5-time BJP MLA Shri Jai Ram Thakur took place at the historic Ridge Maidan in Shimla.
PM Shri Narendra Modi, BJP National President Shri Amit Shah, Union Home Ministers Shri Rajnath Singh, Shri J P Nadda graced the occasion.
Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, Maharashtra CM Shri Devendra Fadnavis; and Haryana CM Shri Manohar Lal Khattar attended.
11 ministers also took oath along with the 52-year-old Shri Thakur.
BJP has ousted the Congress from power in Himachal by winning 44 out of the 68 seats in the recently held Assembly polls.
Shri Jai Ram Thakur :
A Profile
Shri Jai Ram Thakur, born on 06 January, 1965 is a senior BJP leader and the 14th Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. He was elected BJP legislative party leader on 24 December 2017. He has been an MLA in Himachal Pradesh Assembly since 1998 and previously served as Cabinet Minister in BJP Government of Himachal Pradesh. He was Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj from 2009-2012. This time he is elected to Himachal Pradesh Assembly from Seraj in Mandi.
Born to a poor Rajput farming family in Tandi village of Mandi’s Thunag area was fourth among five siblings; two sisters and three brothers. Shri Thakur done his schooling from Government Senior Secondary school Bagsiad and later completed his B.A. from Vallabh Govt. College in Mandi. He did M.A. from Panjab University in Chandigarh.
He was introduced to the ABVP during his graduation at Vallabh Govt. College Mandi, and won first election under ABVP. He remained Joint Secretary, State ABVP, 1986; Organizing Secretary, ABVP (J&K), 1989-93; State Secretary, Bhartiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha; 1993-95; President: State Bhartiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha, and President State Bhartiya Janata Party 2006-09.
Elected to State Legislative Assembly in 1998; and re-elected in 2003 and 2007 from Chachiot Assembly Constituency which after the delimitation has been renamed.
Remained Chairman, General Development Committee & Education Committee; and Vice-Chairman, State Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd. Also remained Chairman, Rural Planning Committee and Member of various other House Committees before being inducted into Council of Minister as Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Minister on 09-07-2012.
He was elected to the State Legislative Assembly for a consecutive fourth term in December, 2012.