Himanta Biswa Sarma is likely to be next Assam chief minister

Himanta Biswa Sarma’s supporters have already declared his name as the next head of the government on social media.

Himanta Biswa Sarma is likely to be named Assam’s next chief minister and the incumbent to the post, Sarbanand Sonowal, may be brought to Delhi at a later stage, Hindustan Times has learnt following late night developments on Saturday.

Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal were the top contenders for Assam CM’s post after BJP’s victory in assembly elections.

A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in the know of the matter said Sarma’s name was expected to be announced around noon on Sunday after a late night nod from the party headquarters in Delhi. On Saturday, current CM Sarbananda Sonowal and Himanta Biswa Sarma met Union home minister Amit Shah, BJP president JP Nadda and party general secretary BL Santhosh. The meetings, held at Nadda’s residence, were conducted in two rounds, the leader said. Both Sonowal and Sarma landed in Guwahati in a special flight late last night after the meetings.

The leader added that while Sarma was the clear frontrunner at the moment, "the situation was still fluid and may change", as the legislative party meet to pick its leader was yet to take place. However, Sarma's supporters believe the meeting to be a formality now and have already declared his name as the next head of the government on social media. Union minister NS Tomar and party general secretary Arun Singh were expected to be the Central observers for the meeting, the leader quoted above said.

Sonowal, who belongs to Assam’s indigenous Sonowal-Kachari tribals, and Sarma, an Assamese Brahmin, who is the convenor of the North East Democratic Alliance, were the two contenders for the top post in the Assam government.

Sarma joined the BJP ahead of the 2014 general elections and is now known as the party’s chief trouble shooter in the northeastern region. In an interview to HT last month, when asked whether he was positioning for the CM’s job, Sarma said the final decision rests with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union home minister.

‘There were two considerations,’ said a senior leader in Delhi, “One, whoever is chosen, the other cannot stay back in Assam. Second, the party had to decide who will be more suitable to lead into the general elections three years from now.’