Guwahati, May 11: Assam Chief Minister-designate Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday said that the names of ministers who will take oath with him will be finalised in consultation with BJP national president Nitin Nabin, who will reach here late in the evening.
The names will be revealed on Tuesday morning, a few hours before the swearing-in ceremony of the new government, he said.
Sarma said most of the top dignitaries attending the ceremony, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will reach Guwahati on Monday night.
Talking to reporters here, the CM-designate said, “Our party national president Nitin Nabin will be reaching Guwahati around 10 pm today, and I will discuss the new ministry with him to finalise it. I don’t want to discuss it over the phone with him.”
The list will be finalised as per the “general guidance of the BJP and Nabin” and those who are inducted will be informed around 7 am on Tuesday, he said.
“It won’t take long to finalise the names. It should be done as I accompany him in the vehicle from the airport to the hotel,” Sarma added.
The distance between the Guwahati airport and the hotel where Nabin would stay is about 15 kms.
Sarma, who will take over as the chief minister for the second consecutive term and lead the third successive NDA government in the state, said the oath-taking ceremony is scheduled at 11 am on Tuesday.
“The PM, Defence minister, Union Home and Finance ministers, chief ministers and deputy CMs of NDA-ruled states will be present on the occasion. Some industrialists, foreign envoys, Satradhikars (heads of Vaishnavite monasteries), party workers, among others, will also be present,” he said.
Among leaders outside the NDA fold, the chief minister of Mizoram will be attending it, Sarma added.
Most of the dignitaries, including Modi and the Union ministers, will reach Guwahati on Monday night, he said.
Sarma said the government’s routine work will commence on Wednesday, reflecting the party’s commitments outlined in the election manifesto.
The NDA had secured a two-thirds majority in the assembly polls. The BJP bagged 82 seats, while its allies Asom Gana Parishad and Bodoland People’s Front won 10 each, in the 126-member House. (PTI)
