Governor invites Badal to form Govt in Punjab

Chandigarh, Mar 2 (UNI) Punjab Governor S F Rodrigues today invited Shiromani Akali Dal President Parkash Singh Badal to form the Government in the state.

A letter to this effect was sent to Mr Badal this morning, Raj Bhavan sources said.

Mr Badal, who led the SAD-BJP alliance to victory in the February assembly polls capturing 67 seats in the 117-member Vidhan Sabha, will be sworn in as the 15th Chief Minister of Punjab at a public function at the PAC-stadium at Mohali this afternoon.

Gen Rodrigues will administer the oath of office to the Akali leader. Besides Mr Badal, eight to ten ministers are also likely to take the oath.

Hectic preparations are on at the PCA stadium for the oath taking ceremony. Senior BJP leaders, including Mr L K Advani, Mr Rajnath Singh and Ms Sushma Swaraj, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the Chief Ministers of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, and former chief ministers O P Chautala, Sahib Singh Verma and Chandra Babu Naidu are expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony.

Yesterday, BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley, who is incharge of the party's affairs in Punjab, held last-minute discussions with Mr Badal on the formation of the coalition Government in the state.

Four of the five independent MLAs have also extended their support to the Government headed by Mr Badal.

Mr Badal had earlier served as CM in 1970, 1977 and 1997. His first term as CM lasted for only 14 months, while his second term lasted two and half years. However his last term in office was for a full five years.

UNI