NEW DELHI, March 18 (Xinhua) -- India's hilly state of Uttarakhand Saturday got a new Chief Minister, a week after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept the assembly polls.
Trivendra Singh Rawat, known to very close to BJP chief Amit Shah, was sworn into office as the state chief minister by the Governor of Uttarakhand in the capital of Dehradun in a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Shah.
The 56-year-old new chief minister is a long-time member of BJP's ideological mentor Rashtriya Swamsevak Sangh (RSS) and played a key role in the recently concluded assembly elections, where the BJP won 57 of the 70 seats in the assembly.
Apart from Rawat, nine cabinet ministers were also administered the oath of office by the state governor. They have all taken charge of their portfolios.
Home Minister Singh had praised Rawat, saying, "Trivendra Singh Rawatji never switched his loyalty. But loyalty isn't the only reason he is in. The Uttarakhand chief minister has the confidence of the RSS leaders and the BJP president."
