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Narendra Modi sworn in as Gujarat CM

Last updated on: December 26, 2012 12:41 IST

Narendra Modi took oath as Gujarat's chief minister for the fourth time at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Gandhinagar on Wednesday.

Governor Kamala Beniwal administered the oath of office and secrecy to Modi.

Bharatiya Janata Party's top brass including Sushma Swaraj, L.K Advani, Arun Jaitley, Nitin Gadkari, Rajnath Singh, Venkaiah Naidu, Ananth Kumar, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan attended the swearing-in ceremony.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, Indian National Lok Dal leader Om Prakash Chautala, former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhra Raje, BJP leaders Shahnawaz Hussain, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Anurag Thakur, Smriti Irani, Prakash Javadekar and Navjot Singh Sidhu were present to witness Modi's crowning moment.

A host of other non-political faces, including actor Vivek Oberoi, his father Suresh Oberoi and actress Kirron Kher were also present during the swearing-in ceremony. 

Having secured an electoral hat-trick, Modi had earlier thanked the people of the state for giving the BJP another chance to form the government.

Modi praised the voters for exercising their franchise in a mature manner. He said their vote was a signal of their approval for development and further progress in the state.

"I thank the people of Gujarat. People have voted thinking if Gujarat prospers, I will prosper. Gujarat voters have proved that people make their choice based on development and progress. Gujarat''s voters are the real heroes today," said Modi.

"The people of the state have proved that if a government provides good governance and development to the people, they will forget everything and vote for that government. I promise that they will continue to witness tremendous development and progress in the future also," he added.

The BJP bagged 115 of the 182 assembly seats up for grabs, while Congress emerged victorious in 61. The Gujarat Parivartan Party of former chief minister Keshubhai Patel bagged two seats.

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