Bhopal, Dec 17 : Congress leader Kamal Nath was sworn in as the 18th chief minister of Madhya Pradesh here Monday.

Governor Anandiben Patel administered the oath of office to Nath, 72. The governor had on Friday invited Nath to form the new government in the state.

The Congress on Thursday named Nath, the nine-time Lok Sabha member from Chhindwara, to head the state Congress Legislature Party, after hours of hectic parleys held by party chief Rahul Gandhi with senior party leaders.

Nath, who has held several portfolios in the Union cabinet, was appointed the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee president on April 26 and was at the forefront in steering the party to a win in the November 28 Assembly polls.

The results were declared on December 11.

The Congress, which won 114 seats, has secured support of 121 MLAs, including SP (1) and BSP (2) legislators and four independents, to cross the majority mark of 116 seats in the 230-member Assembly.

The BJP, which ruled the state for 15 years, got 109 seats in the elections. The saffron party's Shivraj Singh Chouhan was the state's longest serving chief minister since taking charge in 2005.

Those present at the swearing in ceremony included Rahul Gandhi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, AICC general secretary Mallikarjun Kharge, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, his deputy Sachin Pilot, MPs Jyotiraditya Scindia, former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah and Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, Loktantrik Janata Dal leader Sharad Yadav, DMK's MK Stalin, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and Kamal Nath's predecessor and BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan were also present.

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Mangaluru (PTI): A teenager rescued a 10-year-old boy who was being swept away by strong waves at Someshwara Beach, police said on Sunday.

The incident occurred on Saturday evening.

According to officials, Muhammad Arshaman (10), a resident of Vitla Megginapete, had come to the beach with his family when he was caught in a strong current. Noticing the situation, Muhammad Ismail Faiz (16), son of Ashraf from Mudipu, immediately jumped into the sea to rescue him.

Faiz battled the waves for about 10 minutes before managing to bring the boy to safety.

Following the rescue, Faiz became exhausted and briefly lost consciousness. He was later admitted to a private hospital in the city and is recovering.

Arshaman is also reported to be out of danger, police said.

Faiz recently passed the SSLC examination and secured second place in a state-level karate competition.

Both Arshaman and Faiz are relatives and had visited the beach with their families when the incident occurred.

Local swimmers also assisted in the rescue after being alerted.

Faiz said that he knew how to swim, which gave him the confidence to attempt the rescue.