Assam Cabinet Expansion Set for June 5 After Himanta Meets PM Modi

Guwahati: After more than two weeks of waiting for the expansion of the state cabinet following his swearing-in as chief minister for a second consecutive term, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Sunday morning that his ministry will be expanded on June 5. The announcement came a day after Sarma met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday in New Delhi.

On May 12, the chief minister and four cabinet ministers took oath at a ceremony in Guwahati attended by PM Modi, several Union cabinet ministers and chief ministers of NDA-governed states. Sarma also recently met RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in Guwahati — a meeting that RSS insiders said was crucial before he finalised the names of ministers to be sworn in.

“I am pleased to inform that the Council of Ministers of the Govt of Assam will be expanded on June 5, 2026,” Sarma wrote in a social media post on Sunday. Sarma is on a four-day visit to New Delhi, where he met several senior Union ministers on Sunday. He is likely to return to the state on June 2.

Sources said some MLAs who were ministers in the previous govt may not get berths this time, while some senior MLAs are likely to be inducted. Sources also said the CM has received the go-ahead from the party’s top leadership. Typically, regional representation is a key factor in selecting ministers, along with community considerations.

The four cabinet ministers at present are Ajanta Neog and Rameswar Teli of the BJP, and two ministers from the BJP’s allies, the AGP and the BPF. AGP president Atul Bora and BPF’s Charan Boro took oath as cabinet ministers on May 12. Except for Teli, the other three also held cabinet portfolios in the previous Himanta Biswa Sarma-led govt.

Neog has been allotted the women and child welfare and tourism departments. Teli has been given labour, tea tribes and adivasi welfare, along with the department of transformation and development. Bora has been assigned panchayat and rural development, excise, implementation of the Assam Accord, and border protection and development. Boro has been named minister for transport and welfare of Bodoland.

Attention is on key departments such as health, education, finance and PWD, even as the CM holds all departments not yet allotted to any other minister. While several senior BJP MLAs are hopeful of getting a berth, sources said that about 10 or more ministers are expected to take oath next. Speculation continues over whether more MLAs from the BPF and AGP will be inducted, even though the BJP crossed the majority mark on its own.

It was the NDA’s best-ever performance in Assam, with allies winning 102 of 126 Assembly seats — BJP 82, and AGP and BPF 10 each.