Himanta Set to Lead NDA as Alliance Moves to Form Third-Term Government in Assam

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: The NDA leaders and the caretaker Chief Minister of Assam, Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, will meet the Governor and stake claim to form the new government.

Central observer JP Nadda arrived in the state. He will oversee the meeting of the BJP legislators to select their leader in the morning tomorrow. Immediately after this meeting, the NDA alliance parties will meet and select their leader.

According to BJP sources, the AGP has already proposed Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma for the post of chief minister, and so has the BPF. The BJP held a meeting with another alliance party, Gana Shakti, this morning. A party source stated that the selection of Dr. Sarma as the BJPLP leader and the NDA leader appears to be merely a formality, as all necessary steps have been completed. The source further said, “Following the historic mandate bestowed by the people of Assam, the BJP is going to form the government in Assam for the third consecutive term.”

According to sources, efforts are being made to ensure fair representation of ethnic groups, including STs and SCs, in the would-be council of ministers. However, this will not be an easy task, as the BJP itself has 82 MLAs, and its allies AGP and BPF have ten each. It remains to be seen how many AGP and BPF MLAs will receive positions in the new ministry.

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