By NE NOW NEWS
Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday announced the names of 12 MLAs who will be inducted into the state cabinet on June 5, marking an expansion of his ministry nearly a month after he took oath for a second consecutive term.
The swearing-in ceremony will be held at 12:45 pm on Friday, Sarma said in a post on X.
The legislators set for induction are Ashwini Ray Sarkar, Ashok Singhal, Bimal Borah, Biswajit Daimary, Jayanta Mallabaruah, Kaushik Rai, Keshab Mahanta, Krishnendu Paul, Nilima Devi, Pijush Hazarika, Ranoj Pegu and Susanta Borgohain.
The new ministerial line-up also marks the exit of several prominent faces from the previous Cabinet.
Among those who failed to secure a berth are veteran legislator Chandra Mohan Patowary, who held the Environment and Forests, Act East Policy Affairs and Welfare of Minorities portfolios in the previous government, Prasanta Phukan, who was in charge of Power, Skill, Employment and Entrepreneurship, and Medical Education and Research; and Urkhao Gwra Brahma, who handled Handloom, Textile and Sericulture, Soil Conservation and Welfare of Bodoland.
Dispur MLA Pradyut Bordoloi, who crossed over from the Congress to the BJP ahead of the Assembly elections and won the prestigious constituency by a margin of 49,667 votes, was also learnt to have been in contention for a Cabinet berth. However, his name did not feature in the list announced by the Chief Minister.
The induction of former Assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary has also drawn attention in political circles.
Last week, Assam Public Works (APW) submitted a memorandum to Assembly Speaker Ranjit Kumar Dass seeking a high-level probe into alleged financial irregularities, procurement anomalies and misuse of public funds in the Assembly Secretariat during the tenure of the previous administration headed by Daimary.
The organisation sought scrutiny of contracts, procurement records, infrastructure projects and expenditure approvals, and alleged that complaints raised earlier had not been acted upon.
No official inquiry report has been made public, and no findings have been recorded against Daimary in connection with the allegations.
The Cabinet expansion comes weeks after Sarma took oath as Chief Minister on May 12 following the NDA’s emphatic victory in the Assembly elections.
The alliance won 102 seats in the 126-member Assembly, with the BJP securing 82 seats and its allies, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), winning 10 seats each.
Atul Bora, Ajanta Neog, Rameswar Teli and Charan Boro were sworn in alongside Sarma on May 12.
Portfolios for the newly inducted ministers are expected to be announced after Friday’s oath-taking ceremony.