Nagaland: Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party(NDPP) leader Neiphiu Rio was on Thursday sworn in as the chief minister of Nagaland.
The attendees at the oath-taking ceremony in Kohima included defence minister Niramala Sitharaman, minister of state (home) Kiren Rijiju, BJP president Amit Shah, BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav, Manipur CM N Biren Singh, Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu, Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal and Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma.
Rio has served as the state’s CM three times before this, between 2003 and 2014.
Rio’s NDPP is allied with the BJP, and has the support of the JD(U) and an Independent – giving it the backing of 32 of the 60 MLAs in the state.
The polls in Nagaland delivered a hung mandate, with the ruling Naga People’s Front winning 26 seats of the 60 seats in the Assembly, the BJP 12, the NDPP 18, the National People’s Party (NPP) two and the JD(U) and and Independent one each.
