Chandigarh, Dec 11 (IANS): Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal arrived in the Chhattisgarh capital Raipur Wednesday to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Raman Singh as chief minister of the state, his spokesman said here.

Raman Singh will be sworn in as chief minister of the mineral-rich state Thursday (Dec 12) for a third term. He earlier became chief minister in 2003 and 2008.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 49 seats in the 90-member Chhattisgarh assembly to make it a hat-trick of wins.

After the ceremony, Badal will fly to Bhopal to meet Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

However, he will not attend Chouhan's swearing-in function scheduled Saturday (Dec 14). In Madhya Pradesh also, the BJP returned to power for the third time in a row, winning 165 of the 230 seats.

Badal's advisor for national affairs, Harcharan Bains, said the Punjab chief minister will also attend the swearing-in programme of Vasundhara Raje Scindia as Rajasthan Chief Minister in Jaipur Friday (Dec 13).

BJP returned to power in the desert state, capturing 162 of the 199 assembly constituencies.

The ruling Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab is a prominent member of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.