Cheered by tens of thousands of supporters at the Smriti Upvan, the 21st Chief Minister of the country's most populous state was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Ram Naik.

Phoolpur MP Keshav Prasad Maurya and Lucknow Mayor Dinesh Sharma were then sworn in as Deputy Chief Ministers -- in that order.

Twenty-two other cabinet ministers were sworn in. Among the ministers of state was Mohsin Raza, a BJP spokesperson and a former cricket player.

Watching the ceremony were Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President Amit Shah, BJP veterans L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi and union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, a Lucknow MP.

Dressed in his characteristic saffron robes, Adityanath, after taking oath, walked over to and sought the blessings of Advani, Joshi as well as Rajnath Singh.

Outgoing Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav was present on the occasion and, before the event began, mingled freely with BJP leaders.

The BJP swept to power in the Uttar Pradesh assembly election, decimating the opposition and winning 312 of the 403 seats. Another 13 seats were won by allies.

It marked the return of the BJP to power in Uttar Pradesh after 14 long years.

Among the cabinet ministers are BJP leaders Surya Pratap Sahi, Suresh Khanna, Satish Mahana, Rajesh Agarwal, Dharampal Singh, S.P. Singh Baghel and Ramapati Shastri.

Defectors from other parties who won on BJP ticket were also accommodated: Swamy Prasad Maurya, Rita Bahuguna Joshi, Dara Singh Chauhan, Brajesh Pathak and Nand Gopal Nandi.

Meanwhile, BJP leader and central cabinet minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said that Yogi Adityanath, a Gorakhpur MP, would lead Uttar Pradesh on the development path.

"I am confident Yogiji will soon become the face of development in Uttar Pradesh. He has been a fighter for people's cause. He has declared 'Lok Kalyan Sankalp Patra' of the BJP manifesto is his agenda," Naidu wrote on Facebook.

"Unfortunate that some opponents, communalists are trying to portray him as a rubble-rouser and fringe personality. They should go through his parliamentary debates. Those reveal his seasoned thinking on various issues of governance," Naidu said.

Describing Yogi Adityanath as a politician committed to help the downtrodden, Naidu said it was "unfair" to attribute caste to him. "People of all communities are celebrating his appointment."

Referring to criminal charges against Yogi Adityanath, including attempt to murder and rioting, Naidu claimed the cases were political.

  

• 15:27 : Suresh Pasi sworn in as Minister of State
• 15:25 : Sandeep Singh is grandson of Kalyan Singh
• 15:25 : Sandeep Singh sworn in as Minister of State
• 15:23 : Munnu Kori sworn in as Minister of State
• 15:21 : Baldev Aulakh sworn in as Minister of State
• 15:20 : Girish Yadav sworn in as Minister of State
• 15:19 : Mohsin Raza sworn in as Minister of State
• 15:17 : Gorakhpur: BJP supporters celebrate outside Gorakhnath temple after Yogi Adityanath sworn in as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister.
• 15:16 : NilKanth Tiwari sworn in as Minister of State
• 15:14 : Randvender Pratap Singh sworn in as Minister of State
• 15:12 : Atul Garg sworn in as Minister of State
• 15:12 : Jai Kumar Jaiky sworn in as Minister of State
• 15:09 : Archna Pandey sworn in as Minister of State
• 15:07 : Jai Prasad Nishad sworn in as Minister of State
• 15:05 : Gulab Devi sworn in as Minister of State
• 15:03 : Swati Singh sworn in as Minister of State (Independent)
• 15:01 : Anil Rajbhar sworn in as Minister of State (Independent)
• 15:00 : Dharam Singh Saini sworn in as Minister of State (Independent)
• 14:59 : Bhupender Singh Chaudhry sworn in as Minister of State (Independent)
• 14:56 : Swatentr Dev Singh sworn in as Minister of State (Independent)
• 14:54 : Dr. Mahender Singh sworn in as Minister of State (Independent)
• 14:52 : Upender Tiwari sworn in as Minister of State (Independent)
• 14:51 : Suresh Rana sworn in as Minister of State (Independent)
• 14:51 : Anupama Jaiswal sworn in as Minister of State (Independent)
• 14:47 : Nand Kumar Nandi take oath as cabinet minister
• 14:45 : Ashutosh Tondon take oath as cabinet minister
• 14:45 : Mukut Bihari Verma take oath as cabinet minister
• 14:44 : Rajendra Pratap Singh take oath as cabinet minister
• 14:44 : Shrikant Sharma take oath as cabinet minister
• 14:43 : Chetan Chauhan take oath as cabinet minister
• 14:41 : Satyadev Pachauri, Ramapati Shastri & Jay Pratap Singh take oath as cabinet ministers
• 14:40 : Dara Singh Chauhan, Dharmpal Singh, S P Singh Baghel take oath as cabinet ministers
• 14:40 : Satish Mahana, Rajesh Agarwal & Rita Bahuguna Joshi take oath as cabinet ministers
• 14:39 : Dinesh Sharma takes oath as Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh
• 14:39 : Keshav Prasad Maurya takes oath as Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.
• 14:37 : Om Prakash Rajbhar, Brajesh Pathak and Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary take oath as cabinet ministers
• 14:19 : Surya Pratap Shahi and Suresh Khanna take oath as a cabinet ministers
• 14:18 : Swami Prasad Maurya takes oath as a Cabinet Minister of Uttar Pradesh Government