Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday took oath as the chief minister of Assam for the second consecutive term, days after the northeastern state gave a big mandate to the BJP again. The swearing-in ceremony took place at the Veterinary College ground in Khanapara, and among some notable attendees were Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union minister Nitin Gadkari, newly-appointed Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari and US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, among others.
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Sarma was administered the oath by Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya. The 57-year-old is the first non-Congress leader in the state to assume charge as the CM for a second successive term.
Big mandate to BJP in Assam
The BJP got a decisive mandate in Assam when the assembly election results were announced on May 4. The party won 82 seats in the 126-member Assembly, and its partners AGP and BPF won 10 seats each, taking the total NDA tally in the state to 102.
Himanta Biswa Sarma, who was a candidate from the Jalukbari constituency, won by over 89,000 votes.
Not just Sarma, BJP leaders Rameswar Teli, Atul Bora, Charan Boro, and Ajanta Neog were also sworn in as ministers in Assam on Tuesday. “Happy to announce that the following four colleagues of mine will take oath as Ministers tomorrow along with me in the august presence of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi Ji -Shri Rameswar Teli, Shri Atul Bora, Shri Charan Boro Smt. Ajanta Neog,” said Sarma in a tweet before the oath-taking ceremony.
Also Read: ‘Assam’s land, identity, future non-negotiable’: Himanta ahead of oath-taking
Additionally, senior BJP leader and MLA Ranjit Das has been named the candidate for the post of Speaker of the Assam Legislative Assembly.
This is the third consecutive time that the NDA has formed a government in Assam, the first time being in 2016, under the leadership of Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal. Security was tightened across Guwahati, and central and state police monitored the situation before the swearing-in ceremony took place.
