HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, June 4: Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday announced a 12-member expansion of the Assam Cabinet, retaining most of his key ministers from the previous government while inducting four new faces to ensure broader regional and community representation.
The swearing-in ceremony will be held on June 5 at 12.45 pm, taking the strength of the Council of Ministers to 17, including the Chief Minister and the four ministers who were sworn in on May 12.
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The cabinet can have a maximum strength of 19 members, leaving two positions vacant for the time being.
The legislators to be inducted as Cabinet ministers are Ashwini Ray Sarkar, Ashok Singhal, Bimal Borah, Biswajit Daimary, Jayanta Malla Baruah, Kaushik Rai, Keshab Mahanta, Krishnendu Paul, Nilima Devi, Pijush Hazarika, Ranoj Pegu and Susanta Borgohain.
The new entrants to the Council of Ministers are Ashwini Ray Sarkar, Biswajit Daimary, Nilima Devi and Susanta Borgohain.
Daimary served as Speaker of the previous Assam Legislative Assembly, while the induction of the other three is being viewed as an effort to strengthen representation from different regions and communities.
The expansion reflects a balance between continuity and change, with several senior ministers from Sarma’s first government securing another term.
These include Ashok Singhal, Pijush Hazarika, Jayanta Malla Baruah, Ranoj Pegu, Bimal Borah and AGP leader Keshab Mahanta. Kaushik Rai and Krishnendu Paul, who represent the Barak Valley, have also retained their places in the Cabinet.
The four ministers sworn in earlier are BJP leaders Ajanta Neog and Rameswar Teli, AGP president Atul Bora and BPF legislator Charan Boro.
With the expansion, the Cabinet will comprise 13 BJP ministers, two from the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and one from the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), besides the Chief Minister. Ajanta Neog and Nilima Devi will be the two women ministers in the ministry.
The new Council of Ministers reflects a broad social and regional composition.
Apart from representatives from Upper, Lower, Central and Northern Assam, the Cabinet includes two ministers from Barak Valley and leaders representing communities such as Bodo, Mising, Koch-Rajbongshi and Ahom.
The formation of the new ministry also marks the exit of several ministers from the previous government, including Chandra Mohan Patowary, Jogen Mohan and Urkhao Gwra Brahma.
Former minister Ranjeet Kumar Dass has been appointed Speaker of the Assembly.
The Cabinet expansion comes weeks after Sarma began his second consecutive term as Chief Minister following the NDA’s emphatic victory in the 2026 Assembly elections. The ruling alliance secured 102 seats in the 126-member Assembly, including 82 won by the BJP, while its allies AGP and BPF won 10 seats each. (With inputs from PTI)
