Big-wigs bless Yogi as he takes charge of UP in historic second term

New Delhi, Mar 25: It was a grand affair as Yogi Adityanath took oath for a historic second term as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Yogi took oath in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Chief Ministers of all the BJP ruled states were present. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, Smriti Irani, Anurag Thakur, BJP President, J P Nadda were among the other big-wigs who were also present at the event.

Supporters of Bharatiya Janata Party held special prayers in temples in Varanasi, Mathura and other parts of the state on Friday in run-up to the oath-taking ceremony of the newly elected government, news agency PTI reported.

Along with invoking deities, enthusiastic supporters of the BJP were seen worshipping bulldozer, the new emblem of the Yogi Adityanath government.

BJP's State General Secretary Govind Narayan Shukla told PTI that the workers have come out for the swearing-in ceremony after performing prayers and havan in temples across the state between 8 and 9 am.

According to the news received from Varanasi, before attending the swearing-in ceremony of Yogi Adityanath government, BJP office-bearers and workers in Varanasi also prayed in various temples and sought blessings for the government.

The swearing-in of the BJP government will be held at Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium at 4 pm today and Adityanath will be taking oath for the chief minister for the second time.

Yogi Adityanath was unanimously elected as the leader of the newly elected legislatures of the BJP in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and co-observer Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghuvar Das on Thursday. Governor Anandiben Patel has invited him to form the government.

Yogi Adityanath will take oath in the presence of close to 70 thousand workers, besides dignitaries from across the country including Prime Minister Modi, Home Minister Shah and BJP President JP Nadda.

The venue, Ekana stadium, was opened for the general public from 11 am according to officials. The movement of VIPs and dignitaries will resume from 2 pm onwards.

Social workers, prominent leaders, writers, litterateurs, doctors, engineers and sages and saints of religious monasteries and temples from across the state have been invited for the ceremony. Prominent sages from across the country have also been invited. BJP sources said that many prominent industrialists of the country are coming to attend the program.

Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar told PTI that close to 8000 personnel of the Uttar Pradesh Police, Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) along with specialised units like the Special Task Force (STF) and the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) have been deployed in and around the venue for security.

All the access to the venue is being regulated strictly with ATS commandos manning all sensitive spots. Police have also installed CCTV cameras in and around the venue.