Bhopal: Mohan Yadav took oath as the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh here on Wednesday. The event was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the chief ministers of BJP-ruled states among others.

The state will also have two deputy chief ministers - Rajendra Shukla and Jagdish Devda. They will also take oath along with Yadav, state BJP chief Vishnu Dutt Sharma said.

Before going for the oath ceremony, Yadav (58) visited a temple in Bhopal.

He also went to the state BJP office to pay respects to Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, one of the founding members of the Jana Sangh, and BJP's founding ideologue Syama Prasad Mookerjee.

I belong to Raja Vikramaditya's town (Ujjain) who was known for good governance. The oath ceremony will take place in the presence of the world's most popular leader - Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I welcome Modi ji, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president JP Nadda and various Union ministers and chief ministers (of other states) on the soil of Madhya Pradesh, Yadav told PTI.

Asked about his priorities, Yadav said, “We will focus on progress in education, health, employment (sectors) and development in all other areas in the state under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi ji.”

Elaborate arrangements have been made for the swearing-in ceremony scheduled at the Lal Parade Ground in Bhopal.

Ending days of suspense, the BJP on Monday picked Yadav as the new chief minister of the state and denied party stalwart Shivraj Singh Chouhan a record fifth term in office.

Yadav, a minister in the Chouhan government, was elected unanimously as the BJP legislative party leader during a meeting on Monday.

Senior BJP leader and newly-elected MLA Narendra Singh Tomar, who was among contenders for the CM's post, will be the new assembly speaker.

Yadav, who was not being seen as a contender for the top post, is considered to be close to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and hails from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) community which accounts for more than 48 per cent of the state's population.

After he was named as chief minister-designate on Monday, Yadav met Governor Mangubhai Patel and staked a claim to form the next government.

Yadav was elected as MLA from Ujjain South seat for the first time in 2013. He retained the assembly seat in 2018 and again in 2023.

In the last month's assembly elections, the BJP won 163 of the 230 assembly seats in the state, relegating the Congress to a distant second with 66 seats.

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