Himanta Biswa Sarma was unanimously appointed as the next Prime Minister by newly elected MLAs of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), on Sunday, paving the way for the formation of the next government after the ruling alliance secured a sweeping mandate in the Assembly elections.
All 82 legislators elected Sarma as leader of the party’s legislature at a meeting held at the BJP state headquarters in Guwahati in the presence of Union Minister JP Nadda, the central observer supervising the process, and Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, the joint observer.
The eight BJP MLAs who suggested Sarma’s name are Ranjit Kumar Das, Ashok Singhal, Rameshwar Teli, Ajanta Neog, Chakradhar Gogoi, Bijosh Hazarika, Rajdeep Roy and Biswajit Daimari.
After the meeting of BJP MLAs, another meeting was held at the same place where all 20 MLAs of AGP and BPF also named Sarma as their choice for the CM post. AGP president Atul Bora suggested Sarma’s name on behalf of his party, while Rehun Daimary suggested his name on behalf of BPF.
“The process of electing a new leader of the legislative party has now been completed. We have received proposals from 8 BJP MLAs and one each from AGP and BPF on Sarma’s name which has been supported by others. Accordingly, his name has been officially announced as leader of allies BJP and NDA,” Nadda said after the process.
The BJP won 82 of the 126 seats in the state assembly, securing an absolute majority of its own, while the two allies each bagged 10 seats, taking their combined total to 102 seats.
“It is a proud moment for the BJP and our allies as we have been able to form a government in Assam for the third time in a row. I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his leadership that has led to today. The people of the state have blessed his participation in the election campaign and his efforts to develop Assam in the last 10-12 years. I assure the Prime Minister and the people that we will work tirelessly over the next five years to develop Assam,” Sarma said.
“I also thank Union Home Minister Amit Shah, our party’s national president Nitin Nabin and former party president JP Nadda for their role over the years in strengthening the party. I thank Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini for finding time to be with us and our state president Dilip Saikia and our allies AGP and BPF for the support,” he added.
After this process, Sarma and other BJP leaders and its allies will head to Lok Bhawan, where they will meet Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya and formally demand formation of the next government.
The swearing-in ceremony of the new government will be held in Guwahati on May 12, in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, several other Union ministers, chief ministers and their deputy chief ministers of BJP and NDA-ruled states will participate.
The ceremony will be held in Khanapara, where preparations are being made to accommodate about 200,000 people. Many prominent industrialists, artists and intellectuals are expected to participate in this event.
Sarma took office as Chief Minister on May 10, 2021, as the second successive head of the BJP-led government in Assam after his predecessor Sarbananda Sonowal completed his five-year term.
