25.5.16

Sonowal is Assam CM


For BJP , all roads led to Guwahati on Tuesday as Sarbananda Sonowal was sworn in as chief minister of Assam, marking the party's ascent to power in the northeast for the first time, at the head of a 11-member ministry that included ministers from allies Asom Gana Parishad and Bodo People's Front.
Governor P B Acharya administered the oath of office to 54-year-old Sonowal as the 14th CM of Assam and his ministers at a public function at Khanapara, which turned out to be a show of strength for BJP with virtually the entire party brass in attendance.
Just back from his official visit to Iran, PM Modi made it to the show-piece function along with BJP chief Amit Shah, veteran leader L K Advani and a host of union ministers including Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Suresh Prabhu, Ram Vilas Paswan, Venkaiah Naidu, Nirmala Seetharaman, Rajiv Pratap Rudy , Jitendra Singh, Jayant Sinha, Kiren Rijjiju and V K Singh.
Addressing the gathering, Modi began with two lines of well-rehearsed Assamese and assured help from the Centre Act to the region part as of the ` East' policy .“Assam will be the centre-point to bring about effective all-round development of the entire North East and this region will emerge as powerfully developed part of the country as a part of the policy,“ he said. Sonowal promised that his government will work towards making Asssam free from illegal immigrants and corruption.
Among the six BJP ministers to take oath was Himanta Biswa Sarma, a party strategist who quit Congress to join the saffron fold in the run-up to the state polls.
Outgoing Congress Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi was also present at the function.

BJP has formed a non-Congress front in the north-east with Himanta Biswa Sarma as its spearhead. BJP chief Amit Shah said the North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) will comprise the ruling parties of Sikkim and Nagaland, Sikkim Democratic Front and Nagaland People's Front. BJP CMs of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh will be other members, with Sarma, the former Congress leader who played a crucial role in BJP's victory in Assam, as its convenor.
The north-east is among the few surviving strongholds of Congress, with Meghalaya, Manipur and Mizoram still under its belt. With his deep knowledge of the intricate ways of Congress's working in the region and his links to the party, Sarma will be key to BJP's ambitious plan. The front is a manifestation of BJP's intent under Shah to expand its footprint in areas which it has not been able to breach. 

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