The new CM

''I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted, and behold, service was joy." This is a famous quote from Kaviguru Rabindra Nath Tagore, which Assam Chief Minister-designate Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted immediately after he was elected Leader of the BJP Legislature Party for the 15th Assam Legislative Assembly on Sunday afternoon. Dr Sarma's elevation to the office of the Leader of the House – and thus also as the new Chief Minister of Assam – will go down in the political history of the state as one of the most dramatic, historic and significant ones, not to speak of the smooth transition that has taken place. Though there was some drama and suspense for nearly a week after the results of the Assembly election were declared and the BJP-led alliance had won a clear majority, how outgoing Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal handed down the mantle to Dr Sarma is unprecedented in the annals of politics in the entire country. Sonowal, who had so wonderfully delegated powers to Dr Sarma for running the government in the past five years, has, while himself proposing Dr Sarma's name as the leader of the new BJP Legislature Party, also handed over the legacy of a government that was spotless in many aspects. There were no corruption charges against any minister during the past five years. The government had cleaned the Augean stables that the Assam Public Service Commission had been relegated to by the previous Congress-led government of Tarun Gogoi. The jobs bazaar was closed down and the process of recruitment to various government departments had become entirely transparent and corruption-free. There was not a single incident of ethnic and communal clash or tension in the state in the last five years, while insurgency and militancy had become things of the past. Development – particularly on the infrastructure and connectivity fronts – had brought about a sea change in the economy. The corrupt BPF regime was ousted from the Bodoland Territorial Council and the party was shown the door and replaced by the UPPL. Most importantly, Assam stood out among all states in handling the crisis precipitated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Sonowal did all these under the banner of Team Assam, of which Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma played the most important pivotal role. Now that the responsibility of running the state for the next five years has been handed over to him, it is for Dr Sarma to display his acumen, carry forward the legacy with renewed vigour, live up to the expectations of the people irrespective of caste, creed, religion and ethnicity, and take Assam to newer heights. As Dr Sarma gets ready to be sworn in on Monday afternoon, all that the right-thinking people of Assam should do is to wish him good luck.