Bhopal: The Congress has invited leaders from across the political spectrum for the swearing-in ceremony of party stalwart Kamal Nath taking charge as chief minister of Madhya Pradesh on December 17.

Mr Nath, a nine-time MP from Chhindwara seat and currently president of state Congress unit, will take oath at a grand function to be held at Jamboree Maidan in BHEL area here instead of Lal Parade Ground as announced earlier.

He had told reporters Friday that the swearing-in ceremony would take place at Lal Parade Ground around 1.30 pm.

According to sources in Congress, the change of venue is apparently aimed at accommodating a huge crowd the party is expecting for the ceremony.

Notably, Jambooree Maidan is the venue where Mr Nath’s predecessor Shivraj Singh Chouhan of the BJP had taken oath with much fanfare in 2008 and 2013.

“I will take oath alone,” Mr Nath told PTI Saturday, when asked who else will take oath along with him. This means that aspirants seeking ministerial berths will have to wait for some more time. Mr Nath will become the first chief minister of a Congress government in the central Indian state after a gap of 15 years.

Mr Digvijaya Singh was the last chief minister of Congress in Madhya Pradesh. The BJP snatched power from the grand old party in 2003 and went on to retain it till its narrow defeat on December 11.

According to Congress sources, apart from UPA chairpreson Sonia Gandhi and party president Rahul Gandhi, Mr Nath has invited West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu, BSP chief Mayawati and SP president Akhilesh Yadav for the event.

Besides, chief ministers of all Congress-ruled states are being invited, they said. Leading industrialists and religious sants will also be present on the occasion, sources said.