BackHimanta Biswa Sarma to be next CM of Assam, will assume charge tomorrow
He will succeed party colleague Sarbananda SonowalWhile Sarma will assume charge on Monday, Sonowal is likely to be accommodated a berth in the Union cabinet
PremiumAfter days of speculation and discussion, the Bharatiya Janata Party announced on Sunday that Himanta Biswa Sarma will be the next Chief Minister of Assam.
He will succeed party colleague Sarbananda Sonowal.
The announcement in this regard was made by Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar after a legislature party meet in Guwahati. Tomar was named BJP's central observers for the election of the leader of its legislative party in Assam along with general secretary Arun Singh.
While Sarma will assume charge on Monday, Sonowal is likely to be accommodated a berth in the Union cabinet, according to reports.
Sonowal on Sunday tendered his resignation to Governor Jagdish Chandra Mukhi on Sunday.
The BJP has stormed back to power in the crucial Northeastern state retaining its hold on the government.
However, it is understood that the party was facing issues over the selection of the Chief Minister. In the results announced for the 126-member Assam assembly last Sunday, the BJP won 60 seats while its alliance partners AGP got nine seats and UPPL six.
While Sonowal is considered a leader with a clean image and belongs to Assam's indigenous tribal community, a section of the party felt that Himanta would be a better choice considering his strong organisational skills and appeal to the masses.
In this regard, both Sonowal and Sarma had met BJP president JP Nadda and Union home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Saturday.
Three rounds of meetings were held at Nadda's residence between both leaders from Assam, Shah, BJP general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh and the party president.
The meetings lasted for more than four hours.
In the first two rounds of meetings, the BJP's top brass met Sonowal and Sarma separately. While in the final and third round of meeting, the saffron party's top leadership met both Assam leaders together.
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