Himanta to be Assam’s first non-Congress CM twice in a row

Himanta Biswa Sarma will become the first non-Congress Chief Minister of Assam for the second straight term when he is sworn in on Tuesday (May 12, 2026).

The only other non-Congress Chief Minister who served two terms is Prafulla Kumar Mahanta of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), but his tenures were separated by five years. Since the end of his second term in 2001, the AGP has been a minor partner of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Mr. Sarma’s party.

Three Congress stalwarts served as Chief Ministers of Assam thrice. However, both Bishnuram Medhi (August 1950 to December 1957) and Bimala Prasad Chaliha (December 1957 to November 1970) were in the post for two incomplete terms each. Tarun Gogoi was the only one to serve three complete terms, from May 2001 to May 2016.

Hiteswar Saikia, Mr. Sarma’s mentor, was the Chief Minister twice — first during the peak of the Assam Agitation of 1979-1986 and then from June 1991 to April 1996.

Thanking the people of Assam for trusting his leadership, Mr. Sarma reiterated his mission to continue reclaiming land from encroachers. “Assam’s land, identity and future are non-negotiable. After freeing 1.5 lakh bighas of land from encroachment, #NDA3.0 moves ahead with a firm resolve to reclaim 5 lakh more bighas for the people of Assam. Because for us, jati (community), mati (land), bheti (foundation) come first,” he said in a post on X on Monday.

Galaxy of VVIPs

A galaxy of VVIPs from diverse fields is expected to attend the oath-taking ceremony at the College of Veterinary Science Playground on the southern edge of Guwahati. They are headlined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the Chief Ministers of 22 NDA-ruled States and Union Territories, and BJP leaders, including national president Nitin Nabin.

Mizoram’s Lalduhoma will be the only Chief Minister from a State not ruled by the NDA to attend the event. The ambassadors of a few countries, top industrialists, and religious leaders have also been invited.

A few MLAs, including at least one each from the AGP and the Bodoland People’s Front, are likely to take oath as Ministers, along with Mr. Sarma. Assam can have a maximum of 19 Ministers.

Mr. Sarma did not disclose the names of those who would be appointed as Ministers, stating that the names await Mr. Nabin’s approval.

“The list of the Ministers is in my mind. I have to discuss it with my national president for his approval. I have to go by the party’s general guidance,” he told journalists after inspecting arrangements for the swearing-in ceremony.

“Those chosen to be Ministers will be intimated on Tuesday morning,” he said.

This will be the NDA’s third straight term since 2016, when Sarbananda Sonowal became the Chief Minister.