Assam: Himanta Biswa Sarma was sworn in with 13 members of his cabinet.
With Himanta Biswa Sarma taking oath as Assam Chief Minister as the pandemic rages on, his son Nandil and daughter Sukanya told the NDTV today that they want him to focus on the health sector of the state.
Flagging several other issues that they want the new government to focus on, 19-year-old Nandil and 17-year-old Sukanya said they hope the new Chief Minister “outdoes all expectations”. They also said he has to “live up to what he has got”.
They said they “don’t see the CM post as an achievement but as a way to serve people better” and added that is a “wonderful feeling for the family”.
Mr Sarma, who was sworn in with 13 members of his cabinet, succeeds Sarbananda Sonowal as the Chief Minister. It was Mr Sonowal who proposed Mr Sarma’s name for the Chief Minister post.
While the outgoing Chief Minister has stayed out of the cabinet, at least seven ministers from his 17-member cabinet have been retained.
Following the swearing-in ceremony, Mr Sarma told the media that his newly-formed cabinet will meet tomorrow to discuss ways to stem the spike in Covid cases in Assam. “Covid situation in Assam is alarming. We’ve seen that our daily cases have crossed almost 5,000. Tomorrow when we meet for the first time in the cabinet, we’ll discuss the situation from all perspectives and we’ll take all measures required to contain COVID outbreak,” he said.
The BJP won 60 seats and its alliance partners AGP and UPPL emerged victorious in nine and six seats, respectively, in the Assembly elections in Assam, results of which were announced on May 2.