Himanta Biswa Sarma set to be Assam's next chief minister

The 52-year-old leader is the BJP's lead strategist in the northeastern states and a troubleshooter in the region

Ending the suspense over chief minister post of Assam, Union Minister and BJP leader Narendra Singh Tomar announced on Sunday that Himanta Biswa Sarma was unanimously elected as the leader of the BJP Legislative Party in Assam and is all set to become the chief minister of the state.

Sarma's name was proposed by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and seconded by BJP state party president Ranjeet Kumar Dass and newly elected Haflong MLA Nandita Garlosa.

The AGP Legislature party which also held a meeting on Sunday announced that it would support the leader elected by the BJP Legislature Party.

In the 126-member Assembly, the NDA has won 75 seats and the Congress-led 'Grand Alliance' bagged 50 seats.

Earlier during the day, incumbent chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal tendered his resignation to Governor Jagadish Mukhi prior to a meeting of the BJP Legislature Party. As a tradition, the governor asked him to continue till the formation of the next government.

On Saturday, the two main contenders for the post -- Sarbananda Sonowal and Himanta Biswa Sarma -- met BJP president J P Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Three rounds of meetings were held at Nadda's residence between both leaders from Assam.

Sarma, who was elected from the Jalukbari assembly seat for the fifth time since 2001, was a key minister in the earlier Sonowal government. As the health minister, he was lauded for his handling of the coronavirus crisis during the first wave.

The 52-year-old leader is the BJP's lead strategist in the north eastern states and a troubleshooter for the party in the region. 

With inputs from Agenices