Four new faces to take oath today

way2barak, June 5: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced the induction of 12 ministers into the state cabinet, including four new faces, in a move that will raise the strength of the Council of Ministers to 17. Two positions in the 19-member cabinet will continue to remain vacant.

The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled to take place today at 12:45 pm. The announcement was made by the Chief Minister through a post on X.

Ashwini Ray Sarkar, former Assam Legislative Assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary, Susanta Borgohain and Nilima Devi will be entering the cabinet for the first time. The expansion comes less than a month after Sarma took oath as Chief Minister on May 12 along with four ministers, marking the beginning of the third consecutive Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in the state.

Biswajit Daimary’s inclusion had been widely anticipated, although his name had drawn attention in recent days following allegations relating to appointments and contract allocations during his tenure as Speaker between 2021 and 2026.

The induction of Nilima Devi, a first-time MLA from Mangaldai and a senior BJP women’s leader, is being viewed as a notable addition. With her inclusion, the Assam cabinet will have two women ministers, the other being Finance Minister Ajanta Neog, who was sworn in on May 12.

 The two other new entrants are Ashwini Roy Sarkar, a Bengali Hindu leader from Western Assam, and Sushanta Borgohain, an Ahom leader from Eastern Assam who had joined the BJP in 2021, defecting from the Congress after being elected as a Congress MLA that year. He was elected as a BJP MLA in a by-election later that year.