Himanta Biswa Sarma was elected as the new Chief Minister of Assam for the third consecutive BJP-led NDA government in Guwahati on 10 May 2026. | Photo credit: Ritu Raj Konwar
Himanta Biswa Sarma will become the first non-Congress Chief Minister of Assam for a second consecutive term after being 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 terms were separated by five years. Since the end of his second term in 2001, the AGP has been a running mate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Mr Sarma’s party.
Three Congress stalwarts have served as Chief Ministers of Assam thrice. However, Bishnuram Medhi (August 1950 to December 1957) and Bimala Prasad Chaliha (December 1957 to November 1970) were in office 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 chief minister twice – first during the height of the Assam agitation in 1979-1986 and then from June 1991 to April 1996.
Mr. Sarma thanked the people of Assam for their confidence in his leadership and reiterated his mission to continue to gain land from the encroachers. “Land, identity and future in Assam are non-negotiable. After #NDA3.0 freed 1.5 million bighas of land from encroachment, #NDA3.0 moves forward with firm resolve to reclaim 5 million bighas for the people of Assam. Because for us, jati (community), mati (land), bheti (foundation) come first,” he said in a post on Monday.
Galaxy VVIP
A galaxy of VVIPs from various fields are expected to attend the oath-taking ceremony at the College of Veterinary Science Playground on the southern outskirts of Guwahati. They are led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, chief ministers of the 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 non-NDA-ruled state to attend the event. Ambassadors of several countries, top industrialists and religious leaders were also invited.
Several MLAs, including at least one each from the AGP and the Bodoland People’s Front, are likely to be sworn in as ministers along with Mr Sarma. Assam can have a maximum of 19 ministers.
Later, Mr. Sarma said that four of his colleagues — Rameswar Teli and Ajanta Neog (BJP), Atul Bora (AGP) and Charan Boro (BPF) — would be sworn in as ministers along with him.
He also said that BJP’s Ranjeet Kumar Dass will contest for the post of Speaker of the 16th Assam Legislative Assembly.
This will be the NDA’s third consecutive term since 2016 when Sarbananda Sonowal became the chief minister.
Published – 11 May 2026 21:31 IST
