Sonowal, Sarma meet Nadda, Shah ahead of MLAs meet today

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president JP Nadda held discussions with Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal and finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in New Delhi on Saturday, amid speculation that the party leadership is faced with a tough choice over who will head the government in the state.

The BJP-led NDA secured 75 seats in the 126-member assembly, 11 seats fewer than in 2016, in the recently concluded elections. The BJP alone bagged 60 seats. Ally Asom Gana Parishad won nine against 14 last time, while new alliance partner, United People's Party Liberal (UPPL), got six seats. Sonowal was the face of the BJP, fighting against the Congress and defeating it in 2016, while Sarma has over the last five years emerged as an influential leader and the BJP’s pointsman across the north-eastern region.