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Himanta Biswa Sarma: From a disgruntled Congressman to Assam's next chief minister

YB WEB DESK. Dated: 5/10/2021 1:13:36 PM

New Delhi, May 9 Himanta Biswa Sarma is set to become the next Assam chief minister after he was unanimously elected as BJP Legislature Party leader in the state. He was elevated after his name was proposed by outgoing CM Sarbananda Sonowal and others present at the meeting. Himanta Biswa Sarma has, over time, emerged as a force more dominant in stature than former Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal. Himanta Biswa Sarma quit Tarun Gogoiled Congress government ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and quit the Congress party in 2015. Next year, the BJP wrested power from the 15- year-old Tarun Gogoi government. Leading the BJP's mission of a "Congress-mukt Bharat" in the northeast, Himanta Biswa Sarma has proved to be a political asset in expanding the BJP's base in the northeast region -- a territory where the saffron party had no presence till a few years ago -- since his switch from the Congress. From handling the Covid- 19 pandemic in Assam as the health minister to steering the BJP out of the CAA agitation, Himanta Biswa Sarma will now be the next chief minister of the state. Himanta Biswa Sarma joined the Congress in the 1990s. Contesting on a Congress ticket, Himanta Biswa Sarma became an MLA from Jalukbari Assembly constituency in 2001. Biswa Sarma was re-elected in 2006 and then for the third consecutive term in 2011. During the Congress rule in the state, Himanta Biswa Sarma held several portfolios.