May 9, 2021: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which won a second consecutive term in Assam, has elected Himanta Biswa Sarma as the new Chief Minister of the state.
Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and BJP National General Secretary Arun Singh who were appointed as the central observers for the state elected Sarma as the leader of the BJP legislative party in Assam.
Sarma who has been unanimously elected as the leader will assume charge as CM tomorrow. BJP and its allies are likely to meet Governor Jagdish Mukhi around 4 PM today to stake claim.
After securing a re-run in Assam last week, the BJP had been holding discussions about the chief ministerial face.
It may be recalled that Sarbananda Sonowal had handled the sports ministry portfolio in the first term of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government from 2014 to 2016 before he became Assam chief minister.
While Sarbananda Sonowal, the current chief minister, enjoys popular support and did not have any major incumbency, Himanta Biswa Sarma, was the health minister in the Sonowal government.
Himanta Biswa Sarma, who jumped ship from Congress in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha election, has emerged as a dominant political force to reckon with in Assam politics. In 2016 Assam assembly polls, although Sarbananda Sonowal was the face of the party, but the formation of the first BJP government in the state was credited to Sarma, whose organisational skills, knowledge of Congress’ cadres and smart electoral strategy proved to be a huge advantage for the saffron party.
Himanta Biswa Sarma again proved his mettle in the 2019 Lok Sabha election as his party was able to secure a victory amid the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which had rocked the north-eastern state and other neighbouring states. The 52-year-old has proved to be a political asset in expanding the party’s base on the north-east, a territory where the party had virtually no presence till a few years ago.
His political management skills were recognised by the top leadership of BJP, and he was made the convenor of North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) which was created to improve and strengthen the BJP’s presence in the region.
Over the years, Himanta Biswa Sarma has not hidden his chief ministerial ambitions and tightened his grip over the state and party cadres. His political management skills were recognised by the top leadership of BJP and he was made the convenor of North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) which was created to improve and strengthen the BJP’s presence in the region.
Sarma’s election as the CM is an instance of a rare case of the party handing over an important state to a leader who joined the party few years ago.
Sources say that Himanta Biswa Sarma had a major say in the selection of candidates fielded by the BJP. With these candidates securing victories, the party is not keen to displease Himanta Biswa Sarma.
After hectic round of meetings between party president JP Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah and party’s state in-charge Vice President Baijayant Panda and discussions based on feedback from the ground, Sonowal and Himanta Biswa Sarma were summoned to the national capital on Saturday. Over the next four hours, party leaders first met them separately and it was followed by a meet by Amit Shah, JP Nadda and general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh. The top brass is said to have discussed all the options with Himanta Biswa Sarma and Sarbananda Sonowal and conveyed to them what their political reading was, sources said.
Arrangements were on since yesterday at the venue of the meeting of new BJP MLAs. The state's party unit chief Ranjeet Kumar Dass has been reviewing the arrangements at the venue.
In the recently concluded Assam assembly elections, the BJP won 60 seats while its alliance partners AGP won nine seats and UPPL six.
Sources said if all goes well, the swearing-in ceremony of the new chief minister may take place on Monday. Given the Covid-19 situation in the country, the party is not planning a huge celebration and only Nadda may be present at the oath ceremony.