Shibu Soren, heading a five-party coalition, was sworn in as Jharkhand chief minister for the third time by Governor K Sankaranarayanan on Wednesday. 65-year-old Soren was administered oath of office and secrecy by the Governor at the Morabadi ground in Ranch. BJP Jharkhand unit president Raghubar Das and AJSU chief Sudesh Mahato were sworn in as ministers along with Mr Soren. Soren had staked claim to form the government on 25th December with the support of the BJP-JD(U) combine, AJSU and Jharkhand Janadhikar Manch (JJM) having a total of 44 MLAs in the 81-member Assembly and was invited by the Governor the next day to form the government. He has been asked to prove majority on the floor of the House by 8th of January. As per the constitutional requirement, Jharkhand can have 12 ministers including the chief minister.<br/><br/>Earlier, the Centre has recommended lifting of President's Rule in Jharkhand to pave the way for the formation of a new government in the state. A decision to this effect was taken by the Union Cabinet which met in New Delhi on Tuesday evening. Mr Soren had twice before been the Jharkhand chief minister, but as the head of the UPA Coalition. This is the first time that he will he heading the government with the help of the NDA partners. Incidentally, he was the chief minister till the President's rule was imposed in the state in January. After taking oath, Mr Soren said his topmost priority will be to eradicate poverty and provide irrigation facilities to farmers. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi were prominent BJP leaders present at the swearing in. Karuna Shukla, BJP national vice president and in charge of Jharkhand was also present.