BJP's first govt in Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal sworn-in as Chief Minister
Guwahati: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sarbananda Sonowal was sworn-in as the new chief minister of Assam on Tuesday.
Sonowal, who became the first BJP chief minister of the state was sworn in by Governor Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya. He took his oath in Assamese.
Along with Sonowal, 10 ministers including from alliance partners Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Bodo Peoples Front (BPF) also took their oath of office.
Read: Assam Chief Minister Sarbanada Sonowal's steady rise to the top
The six from BJP to take oath as ministers were Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chandra Mohan Patowary, Ranjit Dutta, Parimal Suklabaidya, Pallab Lochan Das and Naba Kumar Doley.
The two from AGP to be sworn-in were Atul Bora (Jr) and Kesab Mahanta, while the two from BPF were Pramila Rani Brahma and Rihan Daimary.
Brahma and Daimari took their oaths in Bodo and Suklabaidya in Bengali while the rest, in Assamese.
Read: Will work for freeing Assam of illegal foreigners, corruption: Sarbananda Sonowal
The swearing in function in Guwahati's Khanapara field was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President Amit Shah, chief ministers of BJP-ruled states and Union Cabinet ministers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal
LK Advani, Rajnath Singh, Ram Vilas Paswan, Nitin Gadkari, Suresh Prabhu, Venkaiah Naidu, Nirmala Seetharaman, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Jitendra Singh, Jayant Sinha, Kiren Rijjiju and VK Singh were also in attendance. Former Assam CM Tarun Gogoi was also present.
Read: Centre to assist Assam, northeastern states to develop as part of Act East Policy: PM
BJP chief ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Madhya Pradesh), Vasundhara Raje Scindia (Rajasthan), Anandi Ben Patel (Gujarat), Devendra Phadnavis (Maharastra), Manohar Lal Khattar (Haryana), Raman Singh (Chattisgarh), Raghubar Das (Jharkhand), Laxmikant Parsekar (Goa) were present. Also present at the function were chief ministers of alliance parties Prakash Singh Badal (Punjab) and Chandrababu Naidu of Telangana.
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Kaliko Pul and Sikkim Chief Minister P K Chamling were present, besides former Jharkhand chief minister Arjun Munda and former Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi were also present. The swearing in ceremony was conducted by Assam Chief Secretary V K Pipersenia.
Read: Assam sees saffron surge, Congress’ Gogoi to hang his boots
The entire Guwahati got a new look as banners and hoardings of NDA leaders have been displayed. Over one lakh people turned out for the event.
Massive security arrangements were made in the entire city. CCTV cameras were also installed everywhere at the venue.
Read: Assam victory 'phenomenal', reflects growing support for BJP: Modi
The BJP created history in Assam on May 19, winning 60 of the 126 assembly seats up for grabs. Its coalition partners - the Asom Gani Parishad and the Bodoland People's Front secured 14 and 12 seats respectively. All three together secured 86 of the 126 assembly seats.
The victory in Assam means the BJP will now play a decisive role in the politics of the north eastern region, where it had been a marginal political force until now. The Congress Party ended up with just 26 seats, feeling the sting of an anti-incumbency wave and popular desire for change.
Read: BJP's new strategist, Harvard pass out Rajat Sethi, who helped lotus bloom in Assam
