Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Shivraj Singh Chouhan was sworn in as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh for the fourth time.

Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon administered him the oath of office as Chief Minister at a ceremony at the Raj Bhawan in Bhopal on the evening of March 23rd, 2020.

The oath-taking ceremony was held amid a coronavirus-induced lockdown in the state capital due to which neither the party leaders nor the media were invited.

Chouhan is the 32nd Chief Minister of the state and represents Budhni constituency in Sehore district.

Outgoing Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath was present at the ceremony too. Nath faced a tough battle to protect his government after the defection of Jyotiraditya Scindia to the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Ahead of the floor test, Nath resigned on March 20th, 2020 after 22 Congress MLAs resigned and joined the BJP.

A cabinet expansion is likely after voting for the Rajya Sabha elections on March 26th, 2020.

Photo credit: @CMMadhyaPradesh