Sarbananda Sonowal congratulates Himanta Biswa Sarma; affirms faith in Assam CM-elect

Outgoing Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Sunday congratulated CM-designate Himanta Biswa Sarma on being unanimously elected as the leader of the BJP Legislative Party. Sonowal affirmed faith that Sarma will carry forward the development journey of Assam that the duo began under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2016.

Ending seven days of speculations, Sarma on Sunday was unanimously elected as the leader of the BJP Legislature Party and the NDA Legislature Party, clearing the stage for him to become the chief minister of the only non-Congress government returning to power in the state for the second consecutive term.

CM Sonowal and other BJP leaders proposed Sarma as their CM pick. The 51-year-old Jalukbari MLA will take oath tomorrow as the 15th Chief Minister of Assam. He will continue to be the convenor of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), the NDA's version in the region.

On Saturday, both Sonowal and Sarma had met BJP national president JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi to discuss the leadership issue of the next government. The BJP leadership was facing a tough choice over the appointment of the new Chief Minister of Assam – the only state where the party registered a convincing victory in the recently concluded assembly elections.

Opposition congratulates Sarma

The opposition Congress and the All-India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) also conveyed their greetings to CM-elect of Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma and hoped that it will become one of the most developed states of the country under his tenure.

"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!" Assam Congress chief Ripun Bora tweeted.

AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal also congratulated the convenor of the North NEDA on being elected as the 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 (sic)," the Lok Sabha MP said in a Twitter post.

Out of the 126 Assembly seats in Assam, the ruling alliance has secured 75 seats. The BJP has won 60 seats, while its alliance partners, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) got nine and six seats respectively.

(With inputs from agency)