Assam govt formation begins: Himanta Biswa resigns as CM

GUWAHATI: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma resigned along with his cabinet colleagues to governor today, setting the stage for the formation of a new government."Following the formal notification of the results of #AssamElections2026 and to enable the formation of the new government, Dr @himantabiswa tendered his resignation as Chief Minister along with that of the council of Ministers to Hon'ble Governor Shri @Laxmanacharya54 today at Lok Bhawan," the Chief Minister's Office said in a post on X.The NDA has secured a third consecutive term in Assam, winning 102 out of 126 assembly seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party emerged with 82 seats, while its allies — Asom Gana Parishad and Bodoland People's Front — won 10 seats each.Sarma, who was the alliance’s chief ministerial face ahead of the polls, said he would submit his resignation to the Governor after the results are formally handed over, initiating the process for forming a new government.He also noted that a meeting of newly elected BJP MLAs will be held based on directions from J. P. Nadda and Nayab Singh Saini, who have been appointed as central observer and co-observer, respectively, to oversee the selection of the legislative party leader.Sarma added that he will coordinate with Nadda to finalise the date for the meeting, marking the beginning of the government formation process.On the opposition’s position, he said the new assembly is unlikely to have a leader of the opposition, as the Indian National Congress has only 19 MLAs—short of the 22 required for the post. However, he clarified that each party will still have its own legislative party leader.