E-Paper
New Assam govt to be sworn in on May 24, PM Modi to attend
The new BJP-led government in Assam will be sworn in on May 24 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP’s chief ministerial candidate Sarbananda Sonwal said on Friday.
The new BJP-led government in Assam will be sworn in on May 24 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP’s chief ministerial candidate Sarbananda Sonwal said on Friday.
The oath-taking ceremony will be held at Khanapara field in Guwahati.
Read | Sarbananda Sonowal, ‘national hero’ who struck gold for BJP in Assam
Leading an alliance with the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), the BJP won 60 of the 126 Assam assembly seats. The AGP won in constituencies while the BPF won 12.
Read | A lot of fight left in the saffron camp
This is the first time the BJP has won a major election in a North-eastern state, and is significant for the party that faced severe drubbing in the Delhi and Bihar elections in 2015.
The pro-BJP sentiment was similar to what the AGP enjoyed in its debut 1985 election after a six-year agitation for detection and deportation of illegal migrants, primarily Bangladeshis.
The issue helped the BJP storm the Congress bastion, leaving the outgoing chief minister Tarun Gogoi with a score of a mere 25 seats.
Perfume baron Badruddin Ajmal’s All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) underperformed to win five seats fewer than the 2011 high of 18.
Read | What worked for BJP in Assam: The fear of Bangladeshis taking over
