Nagaland, Mar.7: NDPP leader Neiphiu Rio today took oath as the Chief Minister of Nagaland for 5th term. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda attended the ceremony in Kohima.
The 72-year-old politician was administered the oath of secrecy by Governor La Ganesan. TR Zeliang and Y Patton were sworn-in as the deputy chief ministers of the state, while other members of the Rio cabinet also took oath.
State BJP chief Temjen Imna Along, widely popular on social media across the country for his sense of humour, and Salhoutuonuo Kruse, one of the two women elected to Nagaland assembly for the first time, were among those who were sworn-in as members of the council of ministers.
Rio will be leading an all-party government with no opposition in his state even as the central government continues talks with former rebels of the NSCN (IM) to finalise a long-awaited peace accord in the border state.
The NDPP-BJP coalition, in the recently concluded Nagaland polls, won 37 seats in the 60-member Assembly. All other parties in the state subsequently extended their letters of support to the Rio-led alliance.
Since the commencement of election campaign, both NDPP and BJP had projected 72-year-old Rio as their chief ministerial candidate.
