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Sunday, April 12, 2026
TopicHimanta Biswa Sarma

Topic: Himanta Biswa Sarma

Himanta Biswa Sarma was sworn in as Assam Chief Minister in May 2021. Till 2015, Sarma was a part of the Congress and a young and ambitious leader considered close to then CM Tarun Gogoi. In 2011, Sarma manged the election campaign for the Congress, and helped it win an unprecedented 79 seats in the 126-member Assam assembly. However, with Tarun Gogoi projecting his son Gaurav as the face of Assam’s Congress leadership, he quit.

In 2015, Sarma joined the BJP and quickly rose to prominence becoming finance minister in the Sarbananda Sonowal government, then convener of the North East Development Alliance (NEDA). He has been credited as the man behind the BJP’s increased foothold in the Northeast.

As Assam Chief Minister, Sarma — though an ‘outsider — has steered many policies seemingly aligned with the Sangh agenda, including the passage of the Assam Cattle Preservation (Amendment) Act, asking for the reverification of the National Register of Citizens and carrying out demolition drives to evict “illegal encroachers”.

Himanta wife passport row: Telangana HC gives Pawan Khera 1-week protection, tells him to move Assam court

Khadija Khan -
Defamation, criminal conspiracy case against Khera lodged over his ‘multiple-passport’ claims against Assam CM's wife. HC has allowed transit anticipatory bail.

As Assam votes, Jorhat frames a contrast between Himanta & Gaurav Gogoi—intensity vs reticence

Sourav Roy Barman -
A victory here would not only mark Gogoi’s first entry into Assam assembly, but also endear him to a quieter, yet sizeable, constituency across Assam that finds Sarma’s style unappealing.

‘Reputational damage before polls’: What’s in Assam CM Himanta’s wife’s FIR against Pawan Khera

Samridhi Tewari -
Assam Police registers FIR against Khera for alleging that Riniki Bhuyan Sharma holds 3 passports and a UAE gold card. Sharma says documents shown at Congress press conferences were fake.

Rahul Gandhi wants to jail Himanta Sarma but Congress has a Bihar-sized problem in Assam

+TFP D.K. Singh -
The Congress has promised Rs 50,000 assistance to each woman but as we've seen in many recent elections, voters seem to be conscious of the proverb: 'A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.'

What’s the 1950 law Nehru put on hold that BJP vows to ‘unleash on Bangladeshi Miyas’ in Assam

Apoorva Mandhani -
BJP manifesto promises protection of land, heritage & dignity of indigenous people by using 1950 law to 'expedite process of detection and pushback of illegal immigrants'.

In poll-bound Assam, ‘Justice for Zubeen’ remains a deeply emotive issue—with fading political weight

Sourav Roy Barman -
People have not stopped grieving the singer’s death. While parties promise justice for him, the matter has not quite translated into an electoral fault line that could shape poll outcomes.

Illegal immigrants ‘assault on Assamese culture, had invaded state’—BJP’s Assam in-charge Jay Panda

Neelam Pandey -
Panda rejected charge of polarisation, saying the allegations are rooted in crackdown on land grabbers, 'illegal immigrants whose forefathers deliberately chose not to be Indian'.

Man who brought in Himanta, now cast aside: Ex-Assam BJP chief among 19 MLAs dropped, veterans push back

Sourav Roy Barman -
Party old guard feeling sidelined after 19 MLAs dropped from candidate list announced on 19 March for 9 April polls. These include senior leaders Atul Bora, Siddhartha Bhattacharya.

Racial attack on Northeast people finally has govt’s attention. What about Muslims?

Vir Sanghvi -
The largest number of victims of identity-based abuse in India are Muslims. In this case, the abuse comes from people at the top, and nobody is willing to do anything about it.

Where does the law stand on Himanta Biswa Sarma’s video of ‘shooting’ Muslims?

+TFP Ashutosh Varshney -
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma's Hindu-Muslim polarisation is clearly done to maximise the odds of winning. But an important legal question is: does it expose him to legal liability?
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