Pradesh Congress Committee Chief Amarinder Singh took the oath as the 26th chief minister of Punjab on Thursday. Eight other ministers, including Navjot Singh Sidhu and Manpreet Singh Badal, were also sworn in by Governor VP Singh Badnore at Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh.

A number of top Congress leaders, including party Vice President Rahul Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, attended the swearing-in ceremony. Before the event began, a wax statue of the new chief minister was unveiled in Ludhiana.

This is Singh’s second stint as Punjab chief minister. He had served as chief minister from 2002 to 2007. He was also elected the leader of the Congress Legislative Party on Sunday.

The Congress has made a comeback in Punjab on Saturday, winning 77 of the state’s 117 Assembly seats. The Aam Aadmi Party bagged 20 seats while the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party Shiromani Akali Dal alliance won 18 seats.

Singh has promised to crack down on the massive drug problem in the state as soon as he takes office. “In four weeks, I will ensure that the backbone of this dangerous drug called ‘Chitta’ is broken,” he had said.