GEIS-新闻详情

Himanta announces cabinet expansion, two BJP MLAs to be inducted

2022-06-09 00:00:00.0 铸币报-政治原网页

GUWAHATI : Two more BJP MLAs will be inducted as ministers, as Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced the first expansion of his government on Wednesday, nearly a month after completing one year in power.

The two new faces are chief minister's Political Secretary Jayanta Malla Baruah, the MLA of Nalbari, and Haflong MLA Nandita Gorlosa, the Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) said in a statement.

"The oath-taking ceremony will take place at 3 pm on Thursday at Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra auditorium," Sarma told reporters on the sidelines of a programme in Majuli.

Sarma took over as chief minister of Assam on May 10 last year after BJP returned to power in the assembly elections for a second consecutive term. Baruah is a former Congress MLA and was elected for the first time in 2011.

However, he did not complete his term and defected to BJP after Sarma had left the grand old party to join the saffron brigade. Gorlosa is a first time MLA from the BJP. The BJP-led Assam government at present has 14 cabinet ministers and there is no one as minister of state.

As per the 91st amendment of the Constitution in 2003, the total number of ministers, including the chief minister, in a state should not exceed 15 per cent of the total number of members of the Legislative Assembly.

As the Assam Assembly has a strength of 126 MLAs, a maximum of 19 ministers can function at a time. The BJP's strength in the 126-member Assam Assembly is 63, while its allies AGP has nine and UPPL has seven MLAs.

In the opposition camp, the Congress' strength is 27, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) has 15 members and CPI(M) has one MLA. There is one Independent MLA also.