Bharatiya Janata Party leader Raman Singh was on Friday sworn in as the chief minister of Chhattisgarh for the second consecutive term.
Governor E S L Narasimhan administered the oath of office and secrecy to the 56-year-old at a function at the Police Parade Ground in Raipur.
The function saw the presence of the top BJP leadership, including party chief Rajnath Singh and prime ministerial candidate L K Advani. Uttarakhand Chief Minister B C Khanduri and senior party leader M Venkaiah Naidu were also present.
BJP ally Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was also present though his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar could not make it due to a flight delay.
Adding the glamour quotient to the function was stars-turned MPs Hema Malini, Smriti Irani and Navjot Singh Sidhu. Congress' chief ministerial aspirant Ajit Jogi was also present.
This is the second consecutive term for the BJP in power since Chhattisgarh was formed five years ago.