Capt Amarinder Singh to take oath as Punjab CM on March 16
Congress leader Captain Amarinder Singh will take oath as the Chief Minister of Punjab on March 16, after he led his party to victory in the Punjab elections, winning 77 of 117 seats. Stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had talked to him after the election results, Singh said PM Modi promised to help him with the state.
Captain Amarinder Singh, the Congress's Chief Minister designate, will take oath as CM on March 16. The swearing-in ceremony will take place in Chandigarh on Thursday at 10 AM."A few cabinet members will also take their oath of office along with me," Amarinder said, refusing to say who will be inducted as ministers. Amarinder - accompanied by some senior Congress leaders - on Sunday went to Raj Bhawan to meet Punjab Governor V P Singh Badnore and formally staked his claim to form the next government in the state.The Governor congratulated Amarinder on the Congress' victory and has formally invited him to form the next government in the state. RAHUL GANDHI PROPOSES AMARINDER'S NAME AS CLP LEADEREarlier, Captain Amarinder Singh, who is the president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC), was unanimously elected the new leader of the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) in Punjab.Rahul Gandhi had proposed his name as the new CLP leader. "The election of Captain Amarinder as the CLP leader took place at the Congress Bhawan, where all the newly elected MLAs passed a one-line resolution authorizing AICC president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi to take a decision on the new CLP leader. I called up Rahul to apprise him of the CLP decision. The Congress MLAs then unanimously elected Captain Amarinder as their leader by a show of hands," AICC secretary in-charge of Punjab affairs, Asha Kumari said. Apart from Asha Kumari, other AICC leaders present at the CLP meeting were Ashok Gehlot (head of the Congress screening committee for Punjab elections) and Harish Chaudhary (AICC secretary). At the meeting, outgoing CLP leader Charanjit Singh Channi read out a statement thanking the people of Punjab for their stupendous support in the just concluded state assembly elections.PUNJAB GOVERNOR DISSOLVES ASSEMBLY Meanwhile, with Captain Amarinder set to take over from the Shiromani Akali Dal's Parkash Singh Badal, Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore dissolved the state Assembly today. Here's the announcement.  