By IANS
Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati was sworn in as Uttar Pradesh chief minister Sunday afternoon, her fourth stint in office. She inducted 48 ministers.
Clad in a pink salwar kameez, the Dalit leader was administered the oath of office by Governor T.V. Rajeshwar at around 1.30 p.m. at the Raj Bhavan.
Among the ministers who took oath were Naseemuddin Siddiqui, Ramvir Upadhyay, Sukhbir Rajbhar, Swami Prasad Maurya, Nakul Dubey, Jaivir Singh and Babu Singh Kushwaha.
The BSP supreme, whose party won a thumping majority in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, becomes the 40th chief minister of India’s most populous and politically crucial state. She had met the governor Saturday and staked her claim to the top job. Her party had won 206 seats in the 403-member assembly.
She was earlier unanimously elected BSP legislature party leader. She will head the first single-party government in the state after 16 years.
Former chief minister and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav was also present among the gathering in the lawns.