Manohar Lal Khattar was sworn in as the chief minister of Haryana, while Jannayak Janta Party President Dushyant Chautala was administered the oath of office as the former's deputy on Saturday. The development comes two days after they stitched an alliance following a fractured mandate in the state.
Khattar, who is going to head the state government for the second consecutive term, along with Chautala, had met Governor Satyadev Narayan Arya and staked claim to form the government with the support of 57-MLAs in 90-member Haryana Assembly including 7 independent MLAs.
On Sunday, the two leaders were administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya. The ceremony concluded immediately and no announcement with respect to the distribution of portfolios was made.
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Sixty-five-year-old Khattar will be heading the second BJP government in the state, which was formed on November 1, 1966.
A low-profile organisational man with an active RSS background, Khattar was chosen by the newly elected BJP legislators as their leader at a meeting on Saturday.
"My government will be transparent," Khattar told the media ahead of taking the oath.
Five-time Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal, whose party Shriomani Akali Dal (SAD) had an alliance with BJP's rival Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) during the assembly elections despite being an NDA partner, attended the ceremony along with son and Member of Parliament Sukhbir Badal.
