Simla, India : December 30, 2007 -  Prem Kumar Dhumal, who led BJP to a grand victory in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls, here today has been sworn in as Chief Minister of the State for the second time. It is a great victory by BJP, whose supporters celebrated the occasion by distributing sweets to the people.

Governor V S Kokje administered the oath of office and secrecy to 63-year-old veteran BJP leader at a public ceremony at the historic Ridge Maidan in Shimla.

Dhumal, an English professor-turned-politician, was unanimously elected leader of the Himachal BJP Legislature Party in Shimla on Saturday.

A three-time MLA who headed the BJP government in Himachal for the first time from 1998 to 2003, Dhumal is the 16th Chief Minister of the State since it was formed in 1971.

BJP stalwart L K Advani, party vice-presidents Shanta Shanta and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Chief Ministers of Punjab, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan — P S Badal, B C Khanduri and Vasundhra Raje respectively — attended the swearing-in function.

Neither outgoing Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh nor any other Congress leader was present on the occasion.

BJP has started preparation for the Lok Sabha elections through they are still a long way to go.