Pokhariyal sworn in as Uttarakhand CM

Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank on Saturday took oath as the fifth Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. He was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor B L Joshi at a function organised at Rajbhavan in Dehradun.

BJP President Rajnath Singh, senior party leader M M Joshi, Yoga guru Baba Ramdev and Chidanand Muni of Parmarth Niketan ashram were also present during the swearing-in ceremony.

Three MLAs -- Matbar Singh Kandari, Bishan Singh Chufal and Madan Kaushik -- also took oath as Cabinet ministers. All the three were also cabinet ministers in the previous B C Khanduri government.

Fifty one-year-old journalist-turned-politician Pokhriyal was earlier elected unanimously leader of the BJP legislature party at the meeting of MLAs in New Delhi.

Pokhriyal's name was proposed by outgoing Chief Minister Khanduri and seconded by state Tourism Minister and of the contenders for the top post Prakash Pant, Rawat and Chandan Ramdas.

Ramesh Pokhriyal - a profile

A journalist-turned-politician, Ramesh Pokhriyal, who has been chosen for the chief minister's post in Uttarakhand, has had a steady innings in state politics.

After actively participating in the Ram Temple movement during the early 1990s, which catapulted BJP to power in Uttar Pradesh, 51-year-old Pokhriyal became a hill development minister in state before its bifurcation.

He made his debut in the Uttar Pradesh assembly in 1991 when he won from Karanprayag seat and retained it in 1993 and 1996.

When Uttarakhand was carved out of Uttar Pradesh in November 2000, he raised a banner of revolt against the first Chief Minister of the hill state Nitya Nand Swami by boycotting the swearing-in ceremony.

After being persuaded by the high command, Pokhriyal took oath and became the first Finance Minister of Uttarakhand in the interim government.

He lost the assembly election in 2002 from Thalisein assembly seat but was elected again to the state assembly in 2007 and became a minister in the B C Khanduri government.

However, a year later he joined the oust-Khanduri campaign, though subsequently he distanced himself from the dissidents and returned to the Khanduri camp.

Born on August 15, 1958 at Pinani in Pauri district, Pokhriyal began as a journalist and has written several books.