Assam cabinet expanded with 12 ministers, strength rises to 16

Guwahati: Twelve ministers took oath of office in Assam. With this the strength of the council of ministers in Assam stood at 16.

The council of ministers has four new faces. In the council of ministers there are two ministers from Bodo community and from Barak valley there are two ministers.

Ashwini Ray Sarkar, Ashok Singhal, Bimal Borah, Biswajit Daimary, Jayant Mallabaruah, Kaushik Rai, Keshab Mahanta, Krishnendu Paul, Nilima Devi, Pijush Hazarika, Dr. Ranoj Pegu and Susanta Borgohain was sworn in on Friday.


The four new faces include Ashwini Ray Sarkar, Nilima Devi, Biswajit Daimary and Susanta Borgohain. From allies Asom Gana Parishad got two berths in the council of ministers. Former minister Keshab Mahanta has found a berth in the council of ministers.

BJP has come back to power for the third consecutive term in Assam. The chief minister along with four other ministers took oath on May 12, expansion of the council of ministers was delayed.

Rameswar Teli, Atul Bora, Charan Boro and Ajanta Neog took oath on May 12. Both Teli and Neog belonged to BJP while Bora belonged to BJP’s ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), Boro comes from another ally Bodoland People's Front (BPF).

A senior BJP leader said, " The size of the council of ministers including the chief minister is 18. Efforts are made that all the regions including Upper Assam, Northern Assam, Central Assam, Southern Assam, Lower Assam and Barak valley get represented in the council of ministers.”

From 60 seats in 2021, the BJP this time won 82 in the 126-member assembly. NDA together won 102 seats. Both AGP and BPF won 10 seats each.

Normal life came to a standstill in Tinsukia and Dibrugarh districts on Friday as organisations representing the Moran and Motok communities enforced a 48-hour bandh.

The organisations alleged that the government led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had failed to honour its commitments to the two indigenous communities and had once again overlooked them in the Cabinet expansion.

“The state government led by Himanta Biswa Sarma is expanding the Cabinet today. Once again, the Moran and Motok communities have been ignored, as not a single MLA from either community has been inducted into the Cabinet. Several promises were made to our people before the elections, but those commitments remain unfulfilled,” said All Moran Students’ Union president Polindra Borah.

He said, “In protest against this continued neglect, we have called a 48-hour bandh in Tinsukia and Dibrugarh districts.”

Protesters were seen burning tyres at several locations.