Himanta Biswa Sarma was on Tuesday sworn in as Assam Chief Minister for the second consecutive term in Guwahati.
Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya, 57, took the oath of office and secrecy at a ceremony held at Khanapara Veterinary Ground in Guwahati.
4 new ministers in Assam
Four more ministers were also sworn in, two from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Rameshwar Teli and Ajanta Neog, and one each from Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), Atul Bora and Charan Boro.
Tilley is a former union minister and Newage Finance Minister in the previous government. Bora is the AGP president and a minister in the previous BJP-led governments. Boro was also part of the previous government.
The event was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, among other government ministers.
Big mandate for BJP in Assam
On May 4, the BJP won the Assembly elections with a landslide victory, bagging 82 of the 126 seats in the state. Its allies AGP and BPF each won 10 seats, bringing their total number of seats to 102.
In contrast, the Congress Party won 19 seats and its coalition partner Raijor Dal won two seats. The All India United Democratic Front and Trinamool Congress, which were not part of any alliance, won two and one seat respectively.
On Sunday, newly elected BJP members and its allies chose Sarma as their leader, after which he staked his claim on forming the government. On the evening of the same day, the governor appointed him prime minister pursuant to a notification issued by the political department.
The BJP formed a government in Assam for the first time in 2016, ending 15 years of Congress rule. The party returned to power again in 2021. In both elections, the BJP won 60 seats each and formed governments with the support of its allies.
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.
