Himanta Biswa Sarma takes oath as Assam CM for the second term, four others sworn in as Ministers

The ceremony was skipped by Opposition parties including Congress, which managed to win only 19 seats.

Guwahati: Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday took oath as Assam Chief Minister for the second straight term while four other legislators including two belonging to BJP's regional allies were also sworn-in as ministers.

Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya administered the oath of office and secrecy to Sarma and other legislators at grand ceremony at the College of Veterinary Science playground at Khanapara.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief guest of the event. Attired in traditional dhuti kurta, Sarma, 57 took oath in Assamese at 11.44am.

The four MLAs, who took oath as Ministers are: Ajanta Neog and Rameswar Teli of BJP, Atul Bora of Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Charan Boro of Bodoland People's Front (BPF).

Teli belongs to tea garden community, an important vote bank of BJP while Neog, a five-time woman MLA, who have served as the finance minister since 2021. The council will soon be expanded.

Ranjeet Kumar Dass, BJP MLA elect from Sorbhog-Bhabanipur, will be the new Speaker, Chief Minister Sarma said.

Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief Ministers and deputy Chief Ministers of several NDA-ruled states, BJP National President Nitin Nabin, several satradhikars, heads of Vaishnavite monasteries in Assam, many top industrialists, diplomstes of several nations, beside others attended the ceremony.

Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha, Tripura, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Harayana, Maharashtra, Delhi, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and others attended the ceremony.

The ceremony, however, was skipped by Opposition parties including Congress, which managed to win only 19 seats.

In the results of the Assembly elections announced on May 4, BJP and its allies registered a record victory for the third straight term by winning 102 seats, out of total 126 seats. BJP bagged 82 while AGP and BPF bettered their tallies by winning 10 seats each.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with newly sworn-in Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma during the swearing-in ceremony of the state government, at Khanapara in Guwahati.

Sarma's rise

The swearing-in on Tuesday as the Chief Minister for the second straight term, first such feat by a non-Congress leader in Assam, further catapulted Sarma's stature in the state politics as well as in BJP.

Sarma's political career has witnessed steady rise since his departure from Congress in 2015. Sarma, who also proved influential in winning elections for Congress, quit following dissidence against the then Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.

Sarma was credited for leading BJP to form its first government in Assam in 2016 and again in 2021, when he was made the Chief Minister, replacing Sarbananda Sonowal.

Sarma's constant push for development and the actions aimed at meeting BJP's promise of shielding the identity and culture in the ethnically-sensitive state has set him apart from his competitors in BJP.

Sarma also emerged as BJP's one of the biggest Hindutva faces and the brand got a boost due to several steps and laws implemented targeting the Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam.

BJP calls the Bengali-speaking Muslims as "infiltrators", and Sarma's constant action has pushed the party's "anti-infiltrator" narrative in the country, particularly in eastern Indian states like West Bengal, which also shares a border with Bangladesh.

On Monday, Sarma said in the next five years, his government would continue efforts to free land from "Bangladeshi infiltrators," protect identity and culture of the indigenous communities and Sanatani Hindus and take Assam to a new height of development.