The Council of Ministers in Assam will be expanded on June 5

File photo of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. | Photo credit: ANI

The Council of Ministers in Assam will be expanded on June 5, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Sunday (May 31, 2026).

Assam can have a maximum of 19 Ministers, including the Chief Minister, as Article 164(1A) of the Constitution of India limits the size of the Council to 15% of the total number of seats in the State Assembly. Assam has a 126-member House.

“I am pleased to inform that the Council of Ministers of the Government of Assam will be expanded on June 5, 2026,” the chief minister announced on social media X. He did not name the number of ministers or anyone.

Mr. Sarma and four others were sworn in on May 12. Others are Ajanta Neog and Rameswar Teli of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Atul Bora of Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Charan Boro of Bodoland People’s Front (BPF).

The BJP won 82 seats in the April 9 assembly elections. Its two regional allies, the AGP and the BPF, won 10 each.

Before taking over as chief minister for a second term, Mr. Sarma had said that the state would eventually have 18 or 19 ministers. This indicated that it would take time for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government to fulfill the entire quota.

According to senior BJP leaders close to the Chief Minister, his Council of Ministers would have a mix of experience and new faces. However, it was not clear whether the BJP would accommodate more than one minister from each of its two allies.

A section within the BJP wants most of the ministerial berths for party MLAs, especially after it won 18 seats more than the simple majority of 64.

Published – 31 May 2026 10:43 IST