Madhya Pradesh chief minister-designate Kamal Nath on Friday said his swearing-in ceremony will take place on December 17, PTI reported. Nath’s announcement came after he met Governor Anandiben Patel.

The swearing-in ceremony will take place at the Lal Parade Ground in Bhopal at around 1.30 pm, Nath told reporters after his meeting with the governor.

Earlier, Nath had said that the post of chief minister is a milestone and thanked Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia for his support, reported NDTV on Friday. Scindia was also a frontrunner for the position.

The nine-time Lok Sabha member was named chief minister late on Thursday after a day of meetings between Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Nath and Scindia.

“The chief ministerial post is a milestone for me,” Nath said in a statement. “On December 13 (in 1979), Indira Gandhi had visited Chhindwara and handed me over to the public. I would like to thank Jyotiraditya Scindia for supporting me. I have worked with his father. That is why I am happy that he supported my selection.”

Nath told India Today that he was “not hungry for the chief minister’s post”, but “hungry to get Congress back in Madhya Pradesh.” On accommodating Scindia and former Chief Minister Digivijaya Singh in his government, Nath said: “Everyone will be accommodated. There are no camps here. The Scindia camp, Digvijaya camp or Kamal Nath camp, all belong to me and I belong to all of them.”

Nath said he had proved that the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah combination was not invincible. “There may have been some nervousness, but I was confident of winning,” he said.

On the party’s alliances in the state, Nath said Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party had promised “unconditional support” and did not ask “for anything in return”. “But everyone will be accommodated,” he said. “Every caste, every region will get representation.”

Nath alleged that the BJP had tried to influence returning officers when asked if the state or central governments tried to influence the elections. Nath said in “two to three” cases, he suspected “it [had] not been fair play” but the Election Commission “did a very good job” otherwise.