Telangana Rashtra Samithi President K Chandrasekhar Rao was sworn in as the chief minister of Telangana on Thursday, two days after his party recorded a thumping win in the Assembly elections. Popularly known as KCR, Rao was unanimously elected the leader of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi legislature party on Wednesday.

Governor ESL Narasimhan administered the oath of office and secrecy to Rao. Rao was the state’s first chief minister since its formation in June 2014 till September 2018, when he dissolved the Assembly and called for early elections. He had served as the caretaker chief minister since then.

Rao’s party had trounced the Congress-led alliance by a huge majority in the elections, winning 88 seats out of the 119. The Congress managed 19 seats and the Telugu Desam Party two. The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen won seven seats, and the Bharatiya Janata Party only one.

Rao’s oath-taking ceremony was scheduled for 1.25 pm, an auspicious time chosen by astrologers and Vedic pandits from the Lord Lakshminarasimha Swamy temple at Yadagiri, the Hindustan Times reported. The shrine, situated in Bhongir district, is a famous pilgrim centre in the state.

The temple’s head priest said the auspicious occasion would give Rao the power to administer the state without any obstacles.