AGP president Atul Bora with Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in Guwahati on Monday

GUWAHATI: Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar will arrive here on Tuesday as an observer of BJP’s parliamentary board to set the ball rolling for declaring the name of the next Assam CM even as the possibility of creation of the post of deputy chief minister for the first time in the state is being discussed.
State BJP president Ranjeet Kumar Dass said the observer will visit the state and meet all concerned in this regard and submit a report to the parliamentary board.
Unlike in 2016, BJP did not name the CM face in the state this time, which has fuelled an ongoing debate of who will take the top slot — incumbent Sarbananda Sonowal, Himanta Biswa Sarma or a third name.
Himanta, who has been at the centre of this debate over the next CM since the election dates were announced, is frequently posed this question and every time his reply would be it was for the parliamentary board to decide. He had even gone on record saying that if Modi or Shah decides on a name other than him, he would not have any regrets.
Sonowal on Tuesday thanked all sections of people of the state belonging to Barak, Brahmaputra, hills and plains, including farmers, workers, artistes, journalists, sportspersons, academicians, employees for giving a clear mandate to the BJP-led alliance in the assembly election.
In a statement here on Tuesday, Sonowal said the people of Assam have voted for the BJP- led alliance due to its performance on four key areas. This includes the development unleashed by the BJP-led government which manifested in every nook and corner of the state, its unrelenting fight against corruption, initiatives to strengthen peace and harmony and committed efforts of the government to safeguard the identity and existence of the Assamese people from influx, which had significantly altered the demography of the state, especially in lower Assam.
Sonowal expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his dynamic leadership, which acted as the guiding force in the development journey of the state and the victory of the alliance in the election. He also thanked Union home minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda for their guidance and leadership in steering the alliance towards its victory.