Former Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has made his comeback to the Union cabinet for the second time.
The two-time Lok Sabha MP forayed into Assam politics in the early 90s and gained greater prominence into Indian politics when Bharatiya Janata Party made its first electoral victory in India's Northeast.
From being a feisty student leader of All Assam Students Union to joining the regional party Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) in 2001 and then making a steady transition to the saffron party in 2011, Sonowal proved his mettle to become the first Chief Minister from BJP and prior to it, he also secured a place as the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship; and Sports and Youth Affair) in the Modi government, making him the first minister from the Northeast to get an independent charge.
Sonowal was an AGP MLA from the Moran constituency in 2001. In 2004 he won the Lok Sabha polls from Dibrugarh constituency. He became the BJP state unit president in 2012
Fast forward to Assam Assembly Elections 2021, where BJP had a sweeping win for the second term and top BJP leader Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma became the chief minister, speculations rife over Sonowal getting a place in the Union Cabinet.
Sonowal retained for the second consecutive term in the Majuli constituency this year.
The BJP leader who is generally considered as an 'honest' politician, was criticized severely for the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act and the anti-CAA protests that occurred across the state.
The opposition and other regional parties alleged that "Jatiya Nayak" hurt the sentiments of the Assamese people.
He won the tag of the Jatiya Nayak for scrapping Illegal Migrants' Determination by Tribunal (IMDT) Act by the Supreme Court in 2005 which he had challenged as AASU president.
The 58 year old bachelor is the youngest of eight children Jibeswar Sonowal and Dineswari Sonowal and hails from Dibrugarh. He completed his BA (Hons) in English from Dibrugarh Hanumanbax Surajmall Kanoi College under Dibrugarh University and his LLB from Gauhati University Law College.
