Raman Singh sworn in as Chhattisgarh CM

RAIPUR: Raman Singh, who powered BJP to a victory in Chhattisgarh, was sworn in for the third time at a glittering public ceremony attended by a galaxy of BJP leaders, NDA allies, businessmen and the opposition Congress leaders in the state capital on Thursday.
Governor Shekhar Dutt administered the oath of office of chief minister to the 61-year-old BJP leader, who scored a hat-trick in the November assembly elections and retained power.With this victory, Raman Singh has achieved the rare feat of becoming a third-time chief minister in the BJP, after his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi.
BJP president Rajnath Singh, veteran BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani, party's prime ministerial aspirant Narendra Modi, leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, Rajya Sabha opposition leader Arun Jaitley, Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar, former chief minister of Jharkhand Arjun Munda, chief minister designates of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Vasundhara Raje Scindia, Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray, leaders of state opposition Congress leaders Ajit Jogi and his party MLAs, members of Parliament attended the swearing in ceremony. NDA ally and Punjab chief minister Prakash Singh Badal.
Posters and banners with Singh's photo were put up on nearly all roads and market areas across the city.
Singh had retained his Rajnandgaon assembly constituency by defeating Congress candidate Alka Mudliyar, wife of former Congress MLA Uday Mudliyar, who was killed in the Darbha Naxalite attack in May this year, by a margin of 35,866 votes.
Raman, who had an uninterrupted 10-year rule in the tribal-dominated state, earned the 'Chawal Wale Baba" sobriquet for the popularity of his unique pro-welfare schemes, including distribution of rice at Re 1 and Rs 2 per kg to families belonging to below poverty line category.
Born on October 15, 1952 in Kawardha, Singh, a 'Rajput', has been active in politics since 1976.