Himanta to expand Assam cabinet on June 5; new faces likely to replace old ones

ASsam chief government minister Himanta Biswa Sarma proclaimed on lord's day that his locker testament be expanded on June 5.“I am pleased to inform that the council of ministers of the government of Assam will be expanded on June 5, 2026,” the CM posted on X.The announcement comes after Sarma met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Saturday where he discussed matters related to the new government among other things.“I briefed him on the head start we are making in the NDA [National Democratic Alliance] 3.0 government in Assam and thanked him for his unstinted support and sought his continued blessings and guidance in the coming years,” the CM posted after the meeting on Saturday.The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) returned to power last month for the third successive term winning 82 of the 126 assembly seats in the state while its two allies, Asom Gana Parishad and Bodoland Peoples Front bagged 10 seats each.Sarma took oath as CM for the second consecutive term on May 12 along with four ministers: Rameswar Teli and Ajanta Neog (both from the BJP) and Charan Boro and Atul Bora from the BPF and AGP respectively. Neog, Bora and Boro were ministers in the previous cabinet, while Teli is a new face.The first Sarma cabinet had 19 ministers with two from the AGP, one each from the BPF and United Peoples Party Liberal (UPPL) and the rest from the BJP. UPPL, which didn’t bag any seat in the assembly poll, is not part of the coalition this time.Also Read:Assam becomes 3rd state to pass UCC Bill; Opposition calls it ‘political stunt’On May 12, Sarma inducted a woman MLA (Neog), one from ST (Boro) and one from the tea-tribe community (Teli). However, BJP insiders say that he may not follow any past formula during expansion.“Usually, an attempt is made to maintain regional and community-based balance in a cabinet by inducting representatives from certain areas, tribes or communities. But that might be discarded this time around,” said a senior BJP office-bearer, requesting anonymity.He said that several old faces are likely to be left out while new ones including youths, will be given berths in the cabinet. Since this is the first time the BJP got absolute majority on its own, allies may have less representation, he said.The office bearer also added that Sarma is unlikely to fill up all available berths in the ministry. There is a possibility of keeping three to four spaces for future expansion and reshuffle, if needed.