3 min readMay 10, 2026 09:28 PM IST
Himanta Biswa Sarma is set to take charge as Assam’s chief minister for a second term after he was elected the leader of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the state on Sunday. He is set to take oath, along with the new Council of Ministers, on May 12.
A meeting of the BJP legislature party was held on Sunday, in which Union Minister JP Nadda and Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini — who were appointed the party’s co-observers for the Assam Assembly elections — also remained present. Nadda announced after the meeting that Sarma was unanimously elected leader of the party in the state after his name was proposed by eight MLAs-elect.
Following the meeting, Sarma met Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya at the Lok Bhavan to stake a claim to form the new government. He has claimed to have the support of 102 MLAs of the NDA who have been elected in the polls. Apart from Nadda and Saini, Sarma was also accompanied by BJP leaders and former cabinet members Pijush Hazarika, Ajanta Neog and Ranjeet Dass, all of whom have been re-elected. Former Union minister and MLA-elect Rameshwar Teli, and alliance partner AGP’s MLA-elect Atul Bora and BPF’s MLA-elect Rihon Daimary also remained present.
This paves the way for Sarma to be appointed as chief minister of the state for a second time. His appointment this time as the party’s CM face is in contrast with the week-long uncertainty that followed after the BJP won the 2021 Assembly elections. Last time, the prime contenders were Sarma and Sarbananda Sonowal, the first BJP CM in Assam after the party’s victory in 2016. While the BJP did not formally declare a CM face before the polls, Sarma has been the face of the party’s election campaign in the state.
This time, the BJP and its allies have seen their biggest win in the state so far, with the BJP winning 82 seats, and its allies AGP and BPF winning 10 each in the 126-member Assam Assembly. Among opposition parties, the Congress has won 19 seats, the Raijor Dal and AIUDF two each, and the Trinamool Congress has bagged one seat.
