Delhi: BJP leaders missing in CM Kejriwal's swearing-in, Vijender Gupta only attendee

BJP leaders except party MLA Vijender Gupta were visibly absent as AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal took the oath of office and secrecy of the Chief Minister of Delhi for the third time on Sunday. In an event attended by thousands of AAP workers and the general public at Ramlila ground, CM Kejriwal gave a rousing speech and sought to blur the divide that the national capital witnessed in a heavily polarising election campaign.

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Vijender Gupta was reported to have been miffed as he was not allotted a seat in the front rows at the swearing-in ceremony. The re-elected Rohini MLA was the Leader of the Opposition in the previous Assembly. 

Invitation extended to BJP MPs, PM Modi

The AAP had invited all seven BJP MPs to the ceremony and Arvind Kejriwal had personally sought PM Narendra Modi's presence in the event. However, the PM is on a visit to his parliamentary constituency Varanasi. AAP leaders from Punjab, including many of their MLAs and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh were present on the occasion. An oath-taking ceremony by a political leader for a Constitutional post is considered as a non-partisan event for both the winners and losers of an election.

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Kejriwal takes oath

Arvind Kejriwal took his oath of office along with six ministers — Manish Sisodia, Satyender Jain, Gopal Rai, Kailash Gehlot, Imran Hussain, and Rajendra Gautam. The Kejriwal-led AAP won the Delhi Assembly elections on Tuesday with a clear majority of 62 seats out of 70 with contender BJP bagging eight seats, better than its tally of three in 2015. The Congress party failed to open its account, just like the last election.

(With inputs from agencies) (Photo: PTI)

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