GUWAHATI, May 12: Himanta Biswa Sarma was sworn in as the chief minister of Assam for the second consecutive term on Tuesday.
Four MLAs – the BJP’s Rameswar Teli and Ajanta Neog, AGP’s Atul Bora, Charan Boro of BPF- also took oath as ministers.
Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya administered the oath of office to Sarma and the four legislators at a grand ceremony held at the Veterinary Ground in Khanapara area in Guwahati.
The 57-year-old is the first non-Congress leader in the state to assume charge as the CM for a second successive term.
The four legislators who will take oath along with Sarma are BJP’s Ajanta Neog and Rameshwar Teli, and one each from its allies- Atul Bora of the AGP and BPF’s Charan Boro.
Neog, Bora and Boro were members of Sarma’s first cabinet, while Teli, a former Union minister, returned to state politics.
This will be the third NDA government in the state, with the alliance first coming to power in 2016 under the leadership of now Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal.
Neog was the finance minister, while Bora took care of the agriculture department, and Boro held the transport portfolio in the outgoing government. Officials said over one lakh people, including the BJP’s panchayat presidents and members, are expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony.
Security has been tightened across Guwahati with central and state police monitoring the situation, while arrangements at the venue are being coordinated by various departments under the directives of Chief Secretary Ravi Kota.
The NDA swept to power in the state with a record 102 of the 126-member assembly, with the BJP alone securing 82 constituencies while its alliance partners, the AGP and the BPF, bagged 10 seats each. (Agencies)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
