Mr Vijay Bahuguna, former Allahabad High Court judge and son of the late Chief Minister HN Bahuguna, was sworn-in as the new chief minister of Uttarakhand today.
Governor Margaret Alwa administered the oath of office and secrecy to the 65-year old Vijay Bahuguna at a simple ceremony at Raj Bhavan at Dehra-dun.
A second-term Lok Sabha MP representing Tehri Garhwal, Vijay was chosen as the new chief minister by the party president Sonia Gandhi last night. He was later elected as the Congress legislature party leader.
Protesting against the decision, Union Minister of State Mr Harish Rawat reportedly quit his job but the high command ignored his revolt and ruled out change in the decision.
Vijay Bahuguna, brother of the U.P. Congress Committee chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi, switched over to politics after quitting his job as a judge. The new chief minister said he would expand his cabinet in the next three to four days.
In the 70-member Uttarakhand assembly, Congress has won 32 seats while the BJP and independents won 31 and 7 seats respectively. The independents announced their support to the Congress Party clearing the way for it to form the Government.
