Sarbananda Sonowal to take oath as Assam CM at spectacular event: No 'Saarc'-asm here!

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made history in the recently-concluded assembly elections, as it clinched power in Assam for the first time. Assam was a Congress bastion with party veteran Tarun Gogoi ruling the state since 2001. The BJP in the state swept the polls by winning 60 seats in the Assembly. With this massive electoral success, it was no surprise that the BJP is intending to make its leader Sarbananda Sonowal’s swearing-in as a gala event. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, chief ministers of NDA-ruled states and even diplomats from Saarc countries are expected to attend the event, as per a report in Economic Times. The new government will be sworn in on Tuesday at the Veterinary College Ground in Khanapara. The ground has been prepared to accommodate at least one lakh people. Before the oath-taking ceremony, a cultural event of Assamese music and dance is slated to take place, as per a report by NDTV. [caption id=“attachment_2796434” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Image courtesy: Twitter/@sarbanandsonowal[/caption] Reports said that Guwahati city literally turned into a fortress for the oath-taking ceremony. Apart from Modi and chief ministers of NDA-ruled states, BJP president Amit Shah, yoga guru Ramdev Baba and spriritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar are also expected to mark their presence. Sonowal, on Sunday, met Assam Governor PB Acharya and staked claim to forming the next government by his party and its allies in the state. The combined strength of the BJP, AGP and BPF is 86 in the 126-member house. Although the BJP did not confirm the numbers, other sources said that while five members from the BJP will be sworn-in with Sonowal, there will be two each from alliance partners Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Bodoland Peoples’ Front (BPF). Earlier, newly-elected 60 BJP legislators held their first formal meeting at a city hotel and unanimously elected Sonowal as their leader. Sonowal said the BJP will take Assam to new heights of development in cooperation with its alliance partners. He said he did not have any problem in working with senior AGP leader and former state chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta. On Sunday evening, Sonowal met three-time former Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi at his official residence in Koinadhara hills and invited him for the swearing-in ceremony.

I met Shri Tarun Gogoi Dangoriya and took his blessings and also invited him for the Swearing-in ceremony. pic.twitter.com/jZepNKvM9b

— Sarbananda Sonowal (@sarbanandsonwal) May 22, 2016

With inputs from IANS