Swearing-in of new Chhattisgarh CM on Dec 13 in Raipur; PM Modi to attend

Vishnu Deo Sai, a prominent tribal face of the saffron outfit in the state, was on Sunday elected as the legislature party leader at a meeting attended by all the 54 newly-elected BJP MLAs

Chhattisgarh's chief minister-designate and BJP leader Vishnu Deo Sai will take oath along with his cabinet colleagues on December 13 at a ceremony in Raipur in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other dignitaries, it was announced on Monday.

Besides Sai (59), who will be the BJP's first tribal CM, his council of ministers will also be sworn-in at the ceremony, an official release said. As per constitutional norms, Chhattisgarh, which has a 90-member assembly, can have a maximum of 13 ministers, including the CM.

The swearing-in ceremony will be held at Science College Ground in the state capital at 2 pm, the release issued by the state public relations department said.

Besides Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president JP Nadda, Union minister Mansukh Mandaviya, party's Chhattisgarh in-charge Om Mathur and CMs of some other states will be present at the function, it said.

Sai, a prominent tribal face of the saffron outfit in the state, was on Sunday elected as the legislature party leader at a meeting attended by all the 54 newly-elected BJP MLAs here. The BJP won 54 out of the total 90 assembly seats in the state.

The Congress, which won 68 seats in 2018, was reduced to a tally of just 35 this time around. The Gondwana Gantantra Party, a regional outfit, managed to win in one segment.