Video | Punjab govt swearing-in ceremony: Amarinder Singh takes oath as CM, Sidhu and Manpreet as cabinet ministers

Punjab Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday took the oath as Punjab chief minister for the second time. His first term in the office was between 2002 and 2007. 

Congress won Punjab Assembly elections with a comfortable win on 77 seats, while SAD-BJP alliance managed only 18 seats, while new entrant Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP won 20 seats. 

Apart from swearing-in ceremony, all eyes were on Navjot Singh’s role in the new cabinet. Cricketer and TV Host, Sidhu had joined Congress only 19 days prior to elections and has stated that he will quit everything else if given a cabinet position. 

Read | Navjot Singh Sidhu ready to leave everything for post in Punjab Govt

Live updates: 

#10:43am: Razia Sultana takes oath as state minister (independent charge). Sultana is Congress' lone senior Muslim face in Punjab. In 2002, she was party's parliamentary secy. 

#10:40am: Aruna Chaudhary takes oath as state minister (independent charge). Chaudhary has won thrid time from Dinanagar seat 

#10:34 am: Charanjeet Singh Channi is the final Congress MLA to take the oath for Punjab cabinet for now. Channi is MLA from Chamkaur Saheb. 

#10:33am: Rana Gurjeet Singh takes oath as the cabinet minister. Senior Congress MLA from Kapurthala is considered one of the closest to Captain Amarinder Singh. His seniority is cited as main reason for his cabinet position. 

#10:32: Tript Rajendra Bajwa takes oath as the cabinet minister. Bajwa is close to CM Captain. He has won from Fatehpur Chudiya seat continuously for the fifth time. 

#10:30am: Sadhu Singh Dharamsrotr takes oath as Cabinet Minister. Sadhu Singh is Dalit face of Congress in Punjab.

#10:27am: SAD-rebel Manpreet Badal swears in for cabinet minister post. Manpreet has held finance portfolio in SAD govt before. He is MLA from Bathinda

#10:26am: After Amarinder Singh swears-in as CM, Navjot Singh Sidhu takes oath for Punjab cabinet 

#10:25am: Congress' Captain Amarinder Singh sworn in as CM of Punjab

Swearing in ceremony of Captain Amarinder Singh begins, Congress VP Rahul Gandhi & former PM Manmohan Singh also present pic.twitter.com/uDmrzDk6C7

— ANI (@ANI_news) March 16, 2017

#10:21am: 

Swearing-in ceremony begins

Preparations underway in Chandigarh ahead of swearing in ceremony of Captain Amarinder Singh, set to take oath as Punjab Chief Minister. pic.twitter.com/uxulhlkteZ

— ANI (@ANI_news) March 16, 2017

Captain has reportedly decided to go in for a simple swearing-in ceremony as an austerity measure. “There will be nothing ostentatious about the oath-taking programme at the Raj Bhavan on Thursday morning, when Punjab Governor V P Singh Badnore will administer the oath of office to Amarinder Singh as the new chief minister of the state,” a Punjab Congress release had quoted Amarinder as saying earlier.

75-year-old Amarinder, CLP leader and Punjab Congress Committee president, was sworn in along with a few members of his cabinet. He hadmade it clear that in the light of the state’s fiscal situation, he did not want any unnecessary or wasteful expenditure to be incurred on the swearing-in ceremony.

Read | Captain Amarinder Singh’s wax statue made in Ludhiana before swearing-in ceremony today

“Government was committed to getting the state out of the financial doldrums into which it had been plunged by the previous dispensation. Each small step will count towards ensuring that every possible rupee is saved at this critical juncture,” he added.

The PPCC president requested all the newly elected MLAs to also keep their personal invitations to the bare minimum to keep the ceremony simple. He urged them to ensure that their supporters also show similar restraint, and not clog the roads of Chandigarh and cause hardship to the people of the city.