Neiphiu Rio takes oath as Chief Minister of Nagaland

KOHIMA: Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) leader Neiphiu Rio was sworn in as Nagaland chief minister by governor P.B. Acharya at a public function.nnThis is Rio?s fourth time as the chief minister of the northeastern state. Rio is heading the ?People?s Democratic Alliance? government in partnership with the BJP in the state.nnBJP?s Y. Patton was administered the oath as the deputy chief minister by the governor.nnTen other ministers were also administered the oath of office. The ten included five from the BJP, three from the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), an independent and a JD(U) MLA.nnDefence minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Uunion minister Kiren Rijiju, BJP president Amit Shah and party general secretary Ram Madhav were present at the swearing-in ceremony.nnThe outgoing chief minister T.R. Zeliang was also present at the function.nnThe chief ministers of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Meghalaya also attended Rio?s swearing-in.nnRio had staked claim to form the government on March 4 with the support of 32 legislators in the 60-member House ? 18 MLAs of NDPP, 12 of the BJP, one of the JD(U) and an independent MLA.nnSource: Press Trust of India