Shimla, Dec 27: Jai Ram Thakur will be sworn in as the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday. The oath taking ceremony will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, former deputy prime minister LK Advani and chief ministers of many BJP-ruled states. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal have already reached Shimla.
The ceremony, which would be held at 11 am at the historic Ridge ground in Shimla, would be a brief one. Some ministers would also take oath, but their names are yet to finalised. Governor Aacharya Devvrat will administer the oath of office and secrecy to Thakur.
The five-time MLA from Seraj in Mandi was elected leader of the BJP legislature party on Sunday after the party ousted the Congress from power in the state by winning 44 out of the 68 seats in the Assembly polls. (ALSO READ –Meet Jairam Thakur, the Soft-spoken, Low-profile Himachal Pradesh CM)
As per sources, around 14 helicopters will be flying to Shimla to ferry the VVIPs. However, they will return back to Chandigarh after dropping them as there is no enough parking space at Annandale ground (helipad). The BJP expects a huge public turnout at the Ridge, nearly 3,000 people from Seraj alone, during the event.
On Tuesday, Jairam Thakur, Union Health Minister JP Nadda, former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and Himachal Pradesh BJP in-charge Mandal Pandey visited the venue to oversee arrangements.
Elaborate security arrangements are being made for the swearing-in ceremony and the prime minister is likely to address people at the Ridge. Director General of Police Somesh Goyal was quoted as saying that proper barricading of the town has been done and foolproof security arrangements are in place.
Notably, 11-12 LED screens have been installed on the Mall Road and nearby places in the town to enable people watch the swearing-in ceremony.