BJP legislature party meeting to decide next Assam CM likely on Sunday

PTI, May 8, 2021, 4:55 PM IST

New Delhi: Amid suspense over the next chief minister of Assam, 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 here on Saturday.

After a series of meetings, Sarma told reporters that BJP’s Assam legislature party is likely to meet in Guwahati on Sunday and all questions related to the next government will be answered there.

Both incumbent Chief Minister Sonowal and Health Minister Sarma were on Friday called to New Delhi by the BJP central leadership, apparently to discuss the leadership issue in Assam.

Three rounds of meetings were held at Nadda’s residence between both leaders from Assam, Shah, BJP general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh and the party president.

The meetings lasted for more than four hours.

In the first two rounds of meetings, the BJP’s top brass met Sonowal and Sarma separately. While in the final and third round of meeting, the saffron party’s top leadership met both Assam leaders together.

Talks related to formation of the next government in Assam and who will be the chief minister dominated the meetings.

Sonowal and Sarma came to Nadda’s residence separately, and left in the same car after the meetings.

Sonowal, who belongs to Assam’s indigenous Sonowal-Kachari tribals, and Sarma, an Assamese Brahmin who is the convenor of the North East Democratic Alliance, are contenders for the top post of the Assam government.

The BJP had not announced a chief ministerial candidate before the Assembly polls in Assam.

In the 2016 Assembly polls, the BJP had projected Sonowal as its chief ministerial candidate and won, forming the first saffron party government in the northeast.

This time, the party has been maintaining that it would decide who would be the next chief minister of Assam after the elections.

In the results announced for the 126-member Assam assembly last Sunday, the BJP won 60 seats while its alliance partners AGP got nine seats and UPPL six.