Himanta Biswa Sarma Expands His Council Of Ministers, 12 More Inducted
High-profile Cong Defectors Find No Place
Guwahati: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday expanded his council of ministers by inducting 12 ministers thereby increasing the strength of his cabinet to 17, of whom 12 were part of his cabinet in his first term as chief minister. There were few new faces in the new cabinet but high-profile Congress defectors could not find any place in the new BJP led NDA government.
Governor Laxman Prasad Acharya administered the oath of office and secrecy.
The 12 MLAs who took oath as ministers are Ashwini Roy Sarkar, Ashok Singhal, Bimal Borah, Biswajit Daimary, Jayanta Malla Baruah, Kaushik Rai, Keshab Mahanta, Krishnendu Paul, Nilima Devi, Pijush Hazarika, Ranoj Pegu and Susanta Borgohain.
Assam can have a maximum of 19 ministers, including the chief minister, under Article 164(1A) of the Constitution.
Among the new entrants is the Speaker of the last Legislative Assembly, senior Bodo leader Biswajit Daimary, who had joined the BJP in 2020 after quitting the BPF. First-time MLA Nilima Devi, who is also the president of the Assam Pradesh BJP Mahila Morcha, was also inducted. She is one of two women ministers, along with veteran Ajanta Neog, who was sworn in with the chief minister. The two other new entrants are Ashwini Roy Sarkar, a Bengali Hindu leader and Sushanta Borgohain, an Ahom leader from Eastern Assam who had joined the BJP in 2021, defecting from the Congress after being elected as a Congress MLA that year. He was elected as a BJP MLA in a by-election later that year.
It is significant that none of the high-profile Congress leaders who joined the BJP just before the election, including Pradyot Bordoloi, who was a sitting Lok Sabha MP when he jumped ship from the Congress, have been accommodated in the ministry. Veteran BJP leader Chandra Mohan Patowary, who is the senior most MLA of the state assembly was also dropped from the council of ministers.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa sarma led NDA government was sworn in on May 12, with Rameswar Teli and Ajanta Neog from the BJP, Atul Bora from the Asom Gana Parishad and Charan Boro from the Bodoland People’s Front as ministers.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had retained power in Assam for a third straight term in the recently held assembly elections. The BJP won 82 seats, while the Congress was distant second with 19 constituencies. The Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF) and the AGP -- BJP's alliance partners -- won 10 seats each.
