BJP legislature party to elect next Assam CM on May 10: Himanta Biswa Sarma

Guwahati: The BJP Legislature Party will meet on May 10 to elect its new leader of the Assam Legislative Assembly, outgoing Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday.

The new government will be sworn in on May 12 at 11 am in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he added.

The new leader will be elected in the presence of the party's central observer, Union Minister J P Nadda, and co-observer and Haryana Chief Minister Naib Singh Saini, Sarma told reporters.

''After the BJP leader is elected, it will be ratified by NDA allies - the Bodoland Peoples' Front (BPF) and the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP). Following that, the elected BJP leader will stake claim to form the government before Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya," he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the swearing-in ceremony, the BJP leader said.

The ceremony is scheduled to be held at the Veterinary Field, Khanapara, and is likely to be attended by chief ministers of several states, Union ministers and representatives from the industry.

Sarma on Wednesday tendered his resignation to Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya who asked him to continue as the head of the caretaker government till the swearing-in of the next government.

The ruling NDA returned to power for the third successive term, securing 102 of the 126 assembly seats in the state with BJP winning 82 seats and its allies - the Bodoland Peoples' Front (BPF) and the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) - bagging 10 each.