The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ended days of speculations on Sunday, announcing that senior party leader Himanta Biswa Sarma will be the next chief minister of Assam, succeeding party colleague Sarbananda Sonowal in office, thus making Sarma only the second BJP chief minister of the northeastern state.
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The announcement in this regard was made by Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar after a legislature party meeting in Guwahati on Sunday. Tomar was the BJP's central observer for Assam, along with the national general secretary, Arun Singh. On Saturday, both Sarma and Sonowal met the BJP's top brass in Delhi.
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Sarma, a former Congress leader, was instrumental in the BJP's victory in the recently-held assembly elections in Assam, in which the party won 60 seats, according to the Election Commission of India (ECI) website, comfortably crossing the majority mark of 64 with its pre-poll allies. The BJP and its allies together won 75 seats in the 126-member assembly, voting for which took place in three phases on March 27, April 1 and April 6. The counting of votes for all 126 assembly constituencies took place on May 2.
While Sarma will assume charge on Monday, Sonowal is likely to be accommodated a berth in the Union cabinet, Hindustan Times has learnt. Before becoming the 14th chief minister of Assam in 2016, Sonowal was the Union minister for sports and youth affairs.
{{/usCountry}}While Sarma will assume charge on Monday, Sonowal is likely to be accommodated a berth in the Union cabinet, Hindustan Times has learnt. Before becoming the 14th chief minister of Assam in 2016, Sonowal was the Union minister for sports and youth affairs.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier in the day, the former All Assam Students' Union (AASU) leader met Assam governor Jagdish Mukhi and tendered his resignation as the chief minister.