Former Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal arrives in Delhi amid speculations of cabinet reshuffle

Former Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Friday arrived in the National Capital to meet senior BJP leaders, said sources. The former Assam CM's arrival in Delhi comes amid speculations of an intending reshuffle in the Union Cabinet and his possible induction into it. 

It is important to mention here that Sarbananda Sonowal was the Chief Minister of the BJP-led Assam government from 2016 till May 2021. Even though the BJP-led alliance returned to power in the state, Sonowal was not made the Chief Minister and was replaced by Himanta Biswa Sarma. 

Sonowal reaches National Capital

According to sources, the former Assam Chief Minister is likely to meet a few top BJP leaders. Earlier, he had also met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at a dinner hosted by Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi in Guwahati on Thursday. Himanta Biswa Sarma was also present at the dinner held at Assam Raj Bhavan. 

There has been speculation that Sonowal, who belongs to Assam's indigenous Sonowal-Kachari tribe, was called by the party leadership to the national capital for consultations ahead of a reshuffle of the Narendra Modi cabinet. There were reports that Sonowal is one of the top contenders for a post in the cabinet. Sarma said recently that before he was given the state's top post, BJP National President JP Nadda had said that Sonowal would be given a new responsibility, without specifying what that could be.

As Sonowal ran a government successfully for five years and helped the party returned to power, there is a possibility of him being "suitably rehabilitated" by the party, said sources. Not only this, even Prime Minister Narendra Modi had acknowledged Sonowal's contribution to the party and the government in Assam. 

(Image: PTI)