NEW DELHI: There is a change of BJP guard in Assam and Himanta Biswa Sarma will succeed Sarbananda Sonowal as the Chief Minister.
In the 2016 Assembly polls, the BJP had projected Sonowal as its chief ministerial face; this time, the party had maintained that it would decide who would be the next chief minister after the elections.
Sarma, who crossed over to the BJP from the Congress six years ago, is perceived as the key strategist who brought the northeast states within the party's grasp.
Within the party, Sarma as Health Minister was said to overshadow the Chief Minister. At the legislature party meeting held in Guwahati, Sonowal had proposed the name of Sarma after Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave his approval for Sarma's elevation, and it was seconded by the MLAs.
The BJP won a second straight term in the recently concluded assembly polls in the state. The party won 60 seats in the 126-member Assam assembly while its alliance partners AGP got nine seats and UPPL six seats.
