Himanta to return? Who will be Assam's new chief minister after BJP's poll win?

THe Bharatiya Janata company has managed to continue force in Assam for the thirdly sequentially term in the recently concluded Assembly elections in the state.The party secured an absolute majority, winning 82 of the total 126 seats in the Assam Assembly. With the party's election campaign successful, all eyes are now on the BJP's chief ministerial pick for the state.While Himanta Biswa Sarma seems to be a frontrunner for the post, other names have also been propped up as the oath-taking nears. Sarma has a strong chance of becoming the CM once again, given his key role in the BJP's election campaign in the state and its sweeping victory thereafter. However, there are slight chances of the party opting for change this time.The BJP's history of springing surprises and picking unexpected names for the post has created uncertainty.Sarma submitted his resignation to Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya on Wednesday, thus paving the way for a new BJP government in Assam. The oath taking is likely on May 12, with Sarma saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi might be in attendance.“Since this was a historic win for the BJP and our allies, we want Prime Minister Narendra Modiji to attend the oath taking ceremony of the new government. But we have been informed that the PM will be occupied till May 11, therefore the event will take place only after that date,” he said. He added that the new CM will be picked at a meeting of BJP legislature party in presence of central observersAlso Read | What explains the BJP’s Assam victory?Who are the key candidates?📌 Himanta Biswa Sarma, who led the party from the front and campaigned throughout Assam extensively in the run-up to the polls.Moreover, his government's developmental policies and beneficiary schemes also struck a chord with the people of the state, according to an earlier HT report. Sarma won by a significant margin of over 89,000 votes in Jaklukbari.📌 Ajanta Neog, now a six-time winner from the Golaghat constituency, might also be considered, given her senior stature in the party.She serves as the minister for finance and women & child development in Sarma's government. With a degree in MA, LLB, and LLM from Gauhati University, she has also in the past practised law as an advocate at the Gauhati High Court. She won the Golaghat seat again this time by a margin of 43, 759 votes, defeating Congress's Bitupan Saikia.Also Read | ‘Brahmaputra, Kamakhya, Bhupen Hazarika’: What Modi said after BJP’s third win in Assam📌Ranjeet Kumar Dass, another senior BJP leader and also the former Assembly speaker, might be a pick. Dass won the Bhowanipur-Sorbhog constituency. Das had earlier represented the Patacharkuchi seat in the outgoing Assembly.With the boundaries and nomenclature of his constituency changes during delimitation, he contested this time against CPI(M)'s Manoranjan Talukdar, the incumbent MLA from Sorbhog. Dass won by a margin of 39,152 votes.📌 Biswajit Daimary, the current speaker of the Assam Legislative Assembly, is also among the recognised names in the state's politics. Daimary won the Tamulpur seat by a margin of over 29,000 votes against United People's Party (Liberal) candidate Pramod Boro.Daimary represented Panery in the current Assembly, which was abolished during the delimitation process. He might be a deputy CM pick for Assam.