BJP leader and North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) convenor Himanta Biswa Sarma was sworn-in as the 15th Chief Minister of Assam by Governor Jagadish Mukhi at the Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra in Guwahati.

Sarma, 52, was elected as the legislature party leader, a week after the ruling alliance won the assembly elections with a clear majority for the second successive term, after his name was proposed by outgoing Chief Minister Sonowal.

The ruling BJP alliance is the first non-Congress government in the state to win the state assembly elections for a second consecutive term.

Of the 126 assembly seats in Assam, the ruling alliance has secured 75 seats with BJP winning 60 while its alliance partners AGP got nine seats and UPPL six.

A five-time MLA and a minister in all cabinets since 2001, Sarma’s political acumen and the ability to get work done against all odds was not only noticed but rewarded by his mentors — former Congress Chief Ministers Hiteswar Saikia and Tarun Gogoi — with both giving him ample opportunities to rise.

After he fell out with Gogoi, he joined the BJP in August 2015. He, along with the then state unit president Sarbananda Sonowal, scripted party’s election success and the installation of the first BJP government in the state in 2016.

He became the convenor of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), bringing all eight North Eastern states within the fold of the NDA, and forming governments either of the BJP or its alliance partners in the region.

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