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Updated May 12th, 2021 at 07:58 IST

Assam gets its first woman finance minister as CM Himanta picks ex-colleague Ajanta Neog

In a first for Assam, BJP MLA Ajanta Neog has been appointed as the state's Finance minister and Social welfare on Tuesday by CM Himanta Biswa Sarma.

himanta, ajanta
IMAGE: @AjantaNeog | Image:self
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In a first for Assam, BJP MLA Ajanta Neog has been appointed as the state's Finance minister and Social welfare on Tuesday by CM Himanta Biswa Sarma. Apart from Neog and Sarma, 11 other ministers were sworn on Monday, with Neog as the lone woman cabinet member. Himanta Biswa Sarma took oath as the state's 15th Chief Minister along with 12 other cabinet ministers at Guwahati's Sankardev Kalakshetra Auditorium in the presence of BJP chief JP Nadda, ex-CM Sarbananda Sonowal, and other Northeastern states' CMs like Meghalaya's Conrad Sanga, Tripura's Biplab Deb, Manipur's Biren Singh and Nagaland's Neiphiu Rio.

Assam's first woman finance minister

Ajanta Neog - a former Congress MLA jumped ship to the BJP in December 2020 after being thrown out of the Congress for 'anti-party' activities. Neog was a former colleague of Sarma in Congress' Tarun Gogoi cabinet in 2011. Holding the Public Works Department (Roads & Building, NH), Urban Development & Housing portfolios she oversaw a 17 percent increase in the length of pucca road from 2011 to 2013–14, whereas the National average for the same period was four percent. Her achievement helped Assam win the best State in Infrastructure Development in 2015. Neog has been holding the Golaghat constituency since 2001.

With COVID as its top agenda, Sarma described the situation 'alarming' asserting, "We have seen that our daily cases have crossed almost 5000. Until & unless COVID situation in Assam is controlled, the situation in the northeast will never come under control. We've our responsibility towards our citizens & entire northeast".

Chairing his first cabinet meet on Tuesday, Sarma announced that COVID restrictions will have to continue for more than a fortnight and that the government will consider a financial relief package for weaker sections. Moreover, a committee has been constituted to ease the burden of loans on microfinance institutions. The cabinet also approved increasing the stake of the Government of Assam in Numaligarh Refinery Limited from the present 12.35 percent to 26 percent, involving a sum of Rs 2,187 crore.

Assam CM conundrum

The suspense over Assam's CM was decided on Sunday when Sonowal submitted his resignation to Governor Jagdish Mukhi and proposed Sarma as the next Chief Minister, backed by BJP State president Ranjeet Kumar Dass. Later, Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar announced that Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma had been elected as the legislative party chief and the next CM of the state at a legislative meeting in Guwahati. The 51-year-old Jalukbari MLA will continue to be the convenor of North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA).

The Assembly elections campaign season in the state of Assam has been marked by speculation of Sonowal possibly getting a role in the Union government and Himanta Biswa taking his place as the Chief Minister, as the saffron party did not name a CM candidate outright. 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 UP. Congress failed miserably, winning 29 seats while its Mahajot alliance partners won - AIUDF (16), BPF (4) and CPM (1).

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Published May 12th, 2021 at 07:50 IST

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