Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma is going to be the next Chief Minister of Assam and the formal announcement shall be made at the BJP legislature party meeting at 1200 hours. This morning incoming Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma drove into the official residence of Chief Minister Sarbnanada Sonowal where he was met with the BJP Assam In Charge Vaijyanta Panda. After that both Mr Sonowal and Dr Sharma drove into the BJP LP meeting in a symbolic gesture of unity. Mr Sonowal is expcted to propose the name of Dr Sarma as the leader of the BJPLP and to be seconded by BJP State Presdent Ranjit Dass.
The Balance of power returns to lower Assam after almost half a century domination of Upper Assam. Dr Himanta Biswa Shama will be the first full fledged Chief Minister from lower Assam after Sarat Chandra Sinha. Mr Sinha resigned in 1977. Since then it has been always upper Assam domination beginning with Golap Borbora to Sarbananda Sonowal. Dr Bhumidhar Burman was a caretaker Chief Minister for more than one time, but it was always stop gap arrangement during Tarun Gogoi regime. Not only the new Chief Minister has come from lower Assam, but coincidentally all power centres of BJP and RSS are from lower Assam and they are from primarily Nalbari district.
Finally the long wait it over. For over a decade, Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma has been the bridesmaid not the bride. First it was to Tarun Gogoi and then to Sarbananda Sonowal, he has been the bridesmaid, doing everything from running the election, funding it, canvassing it yet the post of the Chief Minister was always out of the bound. In fact when this master politicians packed his followers in the 2021 BJP candidates list, even then also most of the political pundits did not give him much chance to become the next Chief Minister replacing Sarbananda Sonowal. The election result of 2021 Assam Assembly election was always a forgone calculation for most of the political pundits but the bigger question was- who would be the next Chief Minister of Assam. It has been a long journey for Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma and no politicians of Assam since independence has such a hold over Assam Politics and that too in two major parties and spread over two decades.
Shortly after Himanta Biswa Sarma was declared the next Chief Minister of Assam, Union Minister Jitendra Singh and BJP national Vice President Baijayant Panda congratulated him on his selection. Singh said Sarma is set to play an important role in "India's growth story" and called his leadership as "dynamic". "Congratulations Himanta Biswa Sarma for being elected as CM-designate of Assam. I am sure, under your dynamic leadership, the State of Assam and entire Northeast will usher in a new era of development and prosperity, and play an important role in India's growth story," Jitendra Singh tweeted. Meanwhile, BJP national Vice President Baijayant Panda also congratulated him on being elected as the new leader of Assam BJP Legislative party. "Heartiest congratulations to Himanta Biswa Sarma Ji on being elected new leader of Assam BJP Legislative Party. He was proposed by Sarbananda Sonowal Ji and seconded by Ranjeet Kumar Dass Ji and Nandita Garlosa Ji and elected unanimously under aegis of observers Narendra Singh Tomar Ji and Arun Singh Ji," Panda tweeted.
Assam CM-Designate Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday evening visited Raj Bhavan in Guwahati and met Governor Jagdish Mukhi to form a government in the state. He was accompanied by incumbent CM Sarbananda Sonowal and other alliance leaders including AGP chief Atul Bora and UPPL chief Pramod Boro. Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, BJP national vice president Baijayant Panda and Assam BJP President Ranjit Dass were also present among other leaders. Earlier today, outgoing CM Sarbananda Sonowal tendered his resignation to Governor Jagdish Mukhi at the Raj Bhavan. The oath-taking ceremony will be held tomorrow (Monday) at Guwahati's Kalakshetra. Along with Sarma, several other MLAs will be inducted as cabinet ministers during the ceremony.
Congress' Ripun Bora and All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) chief Badaruddin Ajmal have congratulated CM-designate Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma for being elected as the 15th Chief Minister of Assam. Both the leaders have wished him a successful tenure Ripun Bora sent his regards to the new Assam Chief Minister and expressed desire to work together for the betterment of Assam. "Many congratulations to @himantabiswa on being elected as the next Chief Minister of Assam. Our only vision must be to work in tandem to make Assam one of the most developed states of India. Best wishes!" Ripun Bora tweeted. AIUDF Chief Badaruddin Ajmal also congratulated him and wished him a successful tenure. "I extend my heartiest congratulations to @himantabiswa for being elected as BJP's legislative party leader. I hope Dr. Sharma with his experience and dedication will pull out Assam from the critical juncture it is at. I wish him a successful tenure," Ajmal tweeted.
In a major development, the ongoing lockdown in Delhi which was supposed to end on Monday at 5 am now will be extended for another week up to May 17. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that metro train services will be stopped during the lockdown. He was quoted saying in a PTI report that although COVID-19 cases have come down in the last few days, any slackness would squander the gains achieved so far in the current wave of the pandemic. The Delhi government had been forced to impose lockdown amid a sprialling rise in COVID-19 cases on April 20.
Rajya Sabha MP and renowned sculptor Raghunath Mohapatra passed away on Sunday due to COVID-19. He was admitted to AIIMS Bhubaneswar for treatment after being diagnosed with COVID-19. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his grief over the demise of Mohapatra and said that he will be remembered for his contributions towards traditional crafts. "Saddened by the demise of MP Shri Raghunath Mohapatra Ji. He made pioneering contributions to the world of art, architecture and culture. He will be remembered for his contributions towards popularising traditional crafts. My thoughts are with his family and admirers. Om Shanti," PM Modi tweeted.
Troopers of Indian Army and police forces on Sunday jointly recovered 19 hand grenades from a terror hideout in Jammu & Kashmir's Poonch district. As per a report, the operation was carried out based on specific input received from intelligence which stated that few terrorists were planning an attack on security forces along the Jammu-Poonch highway. However, no arrests were made. "The relentless development of intelligence by both the agencies led to discovery of a huge cache of grenades, hidden in a well concealed natural (cave) hideout. A total of 19 hand grenades have been found," the spokesman said. "This busting of hideout has averted a likely major plan of attack on security forces. The Army and police have yet again proven their mettle in the fight against terrorism and their commitment towards stability in the region," he added.
Freedom fighter and veteran of the erstwhile Indian National Army (INA) Lalti Ram passed away on Sunday, according to a Haryana government statement. He was 100. Lalti Ram"s last rites were performed at his native village Dubaldhan in Haryana"s Jhajjar district with full state honours in the presence of officers from the administration, the statement issued here said. "Lalti Ram, who was 100 years old and a respected freedom fighter, breathed his last on Sunday," it said. Condoling the freedom fighter"s death, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, "Saddened by the demise of INA veteran Lalti Ram Ji. His courage and contributions to India"s freedom struggle will never be forgotten. I recall my interactions with him. Greats like him have left an indelible mark on India"s history."
Assam on Sunday recorded 3,299 new cases of coronavirus, pushing the active caseload to 36,005. The positivity rate is 9.13 per cent. The deaths in the state has escalated to 1,676 with 48 new deaths reported today. The overall caseload of the state has touched 2,92,368. Of the new cases, Kamrup Metro registered 1,346, Dibrugarh at 228, Tinsukia at 148 and Kamrup Rural at 137. The new cases were detected out of 36,135 tests conducted in the last 24 hours. The district wise deaths are: Kamrup Metro (17), Kamrup Rural (4), Dibrugarh (3), Karbi Anglong (3), Sonitpur (3), Tinsukia (3), Bongaigaon (2) Cachar (2), Jorhat (2), Lakhimpur (2), Barpeta (1), Dhemaji (1), Goalpara (1), Hojai (1), Nalbari (1), Sivasagar (1) and Udalguri (1) Meanwhile, 4,045 cured patients were discharged today. The recoveries have touched 2,53,340 with a recovery rate of 86.65 per cent.
A cache of arms and ammunition was seized near the Kaziranga National Park In Karbi Anglong district on Sunday afternoon. Three poachers have also been arrested who had the arms and ammunition in possession. They were intercepted while they were on their way towards the national park. The cache includes two AK rifles and a bunch of ammunition.
Assam incumbent chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Sunday submitted his resignation before Governor Jagdish Chandra Mukhi at Raj Bhawan. As per reports, Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma is going to be the next Chief Minister of Assam and the formal announcement shall be made at the BJP legislature party meeting at 12 noon. Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, was also present during the tender of Mr. Sonowal's resignation. Union agriculture minister Narendra Tomar along with two central observers, party general secretary Arun Singh, National Organizing Secretary B L Santosh and vice president Baijyant Jay Panda will be present along with the newly elected BJP MLAs of the state. After the declaration of the 15th Chief Minister of Assam on Sunday noon, the BJP led coalition will meet Governor Jagdish Mukhi to stake claim to form the government. As per reports, the meeting with the governor will be held at around 4 pm this evening. The swearing-in ceremony of the new chief minister will take place on Monday.
Senior Assam cabinet minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has been declared as the state's 15th Chief Minister after the BJP-led coalition won the Assembly elections held this year. The incumbent chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal who tendered his resignation before the governor proposed Sarma's name as the next chief minister of Assam in the BJP legislature meeting. The top officials met in Assam to elect the next Chief Minister of the state. The meeting saw the presence of Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar and party General Secretary Arun Singh as central observers. Baijayant Panda, BJP's Assam in-charge was also present on the occasion. Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar felicitated Sarma as the new chief minister of the state and announced his win unanimously. Later in the day, around 4 pm, the BJP unit of Assam will meet Governor Jagdish Mukhi to stake claim to form the government. In the results announced for the 126-member Assam Assembly last Sunday, the BJP won 60 seats while its alliance partners AGP got nine seats and UPPL six. The swearing-in ceremony of the new chief minister will take place on Monday. BJP national president J P Nadda will be present at the oath-taking event.
