Pankaj Nath, Assam: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday expanded his cabinet and administered oath of office to 12 new ministers. With this, the number of cabinet members in the state has gone up to 17, including the Chief Minister. The swearing-in ceremony was formally conducted by Governor Laxman Prasad Acharya and the ministers took the oath of responsibility and secrecy. The names of the 12 MLAs who took oath are: Ashwini Roy Sarkar, Ashok Singhal, Bimal Bora, Biswajit Daimary , Jayanta Malla Barua, Kaushik Roy, Keshab Mahanta, Krishnandu Paul, Nilima Devi, Pijush Hazarika, Ranoj Pegu and Sushanta Borgohain. Under Article 164(1A) of the Constitution, Assam can have a maximum of 19 ministers, including the Chief Minister.
The new ministers include former Assembly Speaker and senior Bodo leader Biswajit Daimri, who quit the BPF and joined the BJP in 2020. First-time MLA Neelima Devi, who is the president of the Assam Pradesh BJP Mahila Morcha, has also got a place in the cabinet. She is one of two women ministers; Another woman minister, Ajanta Neog, had recently taken oath along with the chief minister. Other new faces include Bengali Hindu leader Ashwini Roy Sarkar and former Congress MLAs Sushanta Borgohai, who won the by-election in 2021 by joining the BJP. It is to be noted that many high-profile leaders who left the Congress just before the recent elections and joined the BJP did not get ministerial posts. Among them, names like Pradyut Bardaloi are prominent.
Also, veteran BJP leader Chandra Mohan Patowary, who is one of the senior-most MLAs in the assembly, has not been given a place in the cabinet this time. The BJP-led NDA government led by Himanta Biswa Sarma was sworn in on May 12, 2026; Among those who took oath earlier were Rameshwar Tele and Ajanta Neyog of the BJP, Atul Bora from the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Charan Boro from the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF). In the last assembly elections, the BJP retained power in Assam for the third time by winning 82 seats. The Congress came second with 19 seats, while the BPF and AGP — the BJP’s coalition parties — won 10 seats each.
