Himanta-led council of ministers to take oath on May 12, PM Modi to attend mammoth event

Guwahati: Satradhikars, the heads of satras, the Vaishnavite monasteries in Assam are among the special invitees for the swearing-in ceremony of Himanta Biswa Sarma-led new Council of Ministers of BJP-led NDA government, which will take place on Tuesday.

Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya will administer the oath of office and secrecy to Sarma and his Council of Ministers at 11am at the College of Veterinary Science Playground in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the chief guest.

Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers of several NDA-ruled states, central ministers, BJP National President Nitin Nabin, several top industrialists, beside others will attend the mammoth ceremony.

Although BJP leaders said that the invitation to Vaishnavite priests is part of the tradition, it carries a symbolic significance given BJP's constant focus on its promise to protect and preserve the cultural and religious identity of the indigenous communities against the "threat" posed by "Bangladeshi Mulsim infiltrators".

BJP and its regional allies Asom Gana Parishad and Bodoland People's Front registered their best performance by winning 102 seats, out of the 126 seats. BJP alone bagged 82 seats, its best performance in the state.

This will be the third straight term for BJP and its allies while Sarma will take oath as the Chief Minister for the second straight term.

New Ministers

Sarma on Monday said the list of the new ministers would be finalised during his meeting with Nitin Nabin in Guwahati on Monday night.

"I have the list of all 18 to 19 ministers in my memory but I need to take general guidance of the party before making the names public," he said. PM Modi reached Guwahati on Monday evening.