Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu was on Thursday inducted as a cabinet minister in the new Congress government in Punjab headed by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. Sidhu was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Punjab Governor V.P. Singh Badnore.
However, Sidhu has not been designated as Deputy Chief Minister, as was being speculated in political circles.
Sidhu, who joined the Congress party in January, just days ahead of the February 4 assembly elections in Punjab, won the Amritsar-east assembly seat with a margin of over 42,000 votes.
Sidhu had earlier remained Member of Parliament (MP) from Amritsar when he was part of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was elected MP in 2004, 2007 (by-election) and 2009.
Navjot Singh Sindhu
He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the Narendra Modi government in April 2016.
#FLASH Navjot Singh Sidhu sworn in as a cabinet minister of Punjab govt pic.twitter.com/TMYNhR5cH0
— ANI (@ANI_news) March 16, 2017
Earlier, Amarinder Singh was sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Punjab on Thursday. He was administered oath of office and secrecy by Punjab Governor V.P. Singh Badnore at an impressive ceremony at the Punjab Raj Bhawan.
This is the second time that Amarinder, 75, has become Chief Minister of the state. He earlier held the office from 2002 to 2007.
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