Assam CM Himanta Sarma. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) high command’s took almost a week to decide on Assam’s Chief Minister. The delay was attributed to the post-poll violence in West Bengal, but in all probability, the decision was taken months ahead of the polls. Himanta Biswa Sarma’s appointment as Chief Minister does not come as a big surprise in Assam. He was already known as the ‘Super CM’ since the time of the previous Congress regimes in the state. Some analysts were of the view that Sarma would not get the top job in the state as he was a Brahmin from lower (western) Assam and his acceptability would be low among many indigenous communities. It is true that no Brahmin has ever been Assam’s Chief Minister. However, in reality, all these factors are no longer relevant in Assam, which is in desperate need of a committed government willing to resolve burning issues. The party is now weighing various options to “suitably accommodate” the outgoing CM Sarbananda Sonowal. Sarma was sworn-in as Assam’s 15th chief minister at 12 noon on Monday.
The oath-taking ceremony was held at Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra, a cultural complex, in Guwahati. BJP national president JP Nadda, Union minister for development of the northeastern region (DONER) Dr Jitendra Singh, chief ministers of neighbouring states such as Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya attended the event.
Sarma, BJP’s trouble-shooter and the go-to man in the Northeast, was instrumental for the party’s two consecutive victories in Assam. And after its humiliating defeat in West Bengal, the party brass may have felt that he should be given a free hand to further consolidate BJP’s position in the region ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Sarma who had been a strong contender for the CM post enjoys the support of a majority of BJP legislators besides its allies, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the tribal outfit, United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL).
Despite Sonowal’s clean image, Sarma’s impressive performance in the past five years as a senior minister and his ability to frame result-oriented strategies have made him indispensable to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah.
His smart handling of the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic in the state was lauded by many. Even the World Health Organization (WHO) praised Assam’s COVID-19 management system.
As finance minister in the last cabinet, Sarma was also seen as the brains behind a number of populist schemes such as ‘Orunodoi’ for low-income families, ‘Arundhuti’ for women’s welfare, distribution of free two-wheeler to girls, free admissions for poor
One of the powerful politicians in the entire northeastern region, Himanta Biswa Sarma, 52, was administered the oath of office by Governor Jagdish Mukhi at the famous Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra in Guwahati.
Urging the outlawed terror outfits to shun the path of violence and come to the negotiation table, minutes after taking oath as Chief Minister of Assam, Sarma said that an effective roadmap would be finalised in the first cabinet meeting on Tuesday to curb the “alarming rise of the coronavirus in the state”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Sarma on taking oath as a new Chief Minister of Assam and other Ministers, wishing the “new team will add momentum to the development journey of Assam and fulfil aspirations of the people”.
Besides the Chief Minister, 13 newly-elected MLAs of the BJP and its allies, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and United People Party Liberal (UPPL), were also sworn in. The 13 Ministers comprised Ranjeet Kumar Dass, Atul Bora, U.G. Brahma, Parimal Suklabaidya, Chandra Mohan Patowary, Keshb Mahanta, Ranoj Pegu, Sanjay Kishan, Jogen Mohan, Ajanta Neog, Ashok Singhal, Pijush Hazarika and Bimal Bora.Neog, who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party weeks before the recently-held Assembly polls, was a Congress Minister in the previous Tarun Gogoi-led governments. She is the lone woman minister in the 14-member Sarma ministry.
State BJP President Dass, Pegu, Singhal, Bora and Brahma are the five new faces and have been inducted as Ministers for the first time. Of the 13 ministers excluding the Chief Minister, there are two — Atul Bora and Keshb Mahanta are from AGP while U.G. Brahma belongs to UPPL. While Chief Minister Sarma and 11 other ministers took oath in Assamese, Parimal Suklabaidya, who elected from southern Assam, took oath in Bengali, Brahma, a former Rajya Sabha MP and Sahitya Akademi awardee took oath in the Bodo language and BJP MLA Ashok Singhal took oath in English.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Sarma, wishing the new team will add momentum to the development journey of the hilly state.
“Congratulations to @himantabiswa Ji and the other Ministers who took oath today. I am confident this team will add momentum to the development journey of Assam and fulfil aspirations of the people,” Modi tweeted.
Modi also praised the contribution of incumbent Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in another tweet, saying “My valued colleague @sarbanandsonwal Ji was at the helm of a pro-people and pro-development administration over the last five years. His contribution towards Assam’s progress and strengthening the party in the state is immense”.
Sarma, who was instrumental in BJP’s stride in the Northeast, was administered the oath of office by Governor Jagdish Mukhi, in the presence of BJP national president J.P. Nadda and other leaders.
In the results announced for the 126-member Assam Assembly on May 2, the BJP won 60 seats while its alliance partners AGP got nine seats and UPPL six. (IANS)