The Congress formed its governments in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh on Monday. The day started with the swearing in of Ashok Gehlot as Rajasthan Chief Minister with Sachin Pilot as his deputy. Among those, who attended the swearing in function were Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Nationalist Congress Party leaders Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel, Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham’s MK Stalin.
These leaders later travelled to Bhopal to witness the swearing in of Kamal Nath as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister. The event followed some heart-warming visuals of former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan raising the hands of Kaml Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia.
मध्य प्रदेश: हिंदुस्तान का दिल देखो…
महफिल कोई भी हो मजमा @ChouhanShivraj ही लूटते हैं! आज जो किया इसके लिए ’56 इंच का सीना’ नहीं बल्कि एक बड़ा दिल चाहिए. हर रोज गर्त में जाने के नए कीर्तिमान गढ़ती राजनीति के बीच से अच्छी तस्वीर… #shivrajsinghchouhan को भविष्य की शुभकामनाएं pic.twitter.com/vVpyoXPoYX
— Sushant Shukla (@sushantABP) December 17, 2018
Another striking visual from Rajasthan was when the outgoing Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje hugging her nephew Jyotiraditya Scindia as he arrived in Jaipur to take part in Gehlot’s oath taking function.
Former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje greets Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia during Ashok Gehlot’s swearing-in ceremony at Albert Hall in Jaipur,(Source: PTI Photo) pic.twitter.com/BUWrgE18ZN
— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) December 17, 2018
Soon after being sworn in as the state’s new chief minister, Kamal Nath signed the order to waive off farmers’ loan. This was a promise that the Congress had made during the election campaign.
And Delivery of Promises by Congress President @RahulGandhi Begins !!! #MadhyaPradesh CM #Kamalnath waives of Farmers loans up to Rs 2 lakhs… pic.twitter.com/dKpLsRwYmH
— Supriya Bhardwaj (@Supriya23bh) December 17, 2018
In Chhattisgarh, Bhupesh Baghel’s swearing in ceremony was postponed due to incessant rain. The venue of his oath taking ceremony was changed from Science College ground to Balbir Singh Juneja Indoor Stadium in Raipur, due to continuous rainfall.
Like Kamal Nath, Baghel too announced waiving off farmers’ loans soon after being sworn in as the state’s chief minister. News agency ANI quoted Baghel, “Congress President Rahul Gandhi had announced that farm loans will be waived within 10 days and that Minimum Support Price (MSP) for maize will be increased to Rs 2500 from Rs 1700 per quintal. These two decisions have been taken today.”