Guwahati: The first session of 15th Assam legislative assembly began on Friday, where Pro-tem speaker and eighth time legislator Phani Bhusan Choudhury administered the oath to 90 newly-elected representatives from 126 assembly constituencies keeping the rest for today following the Covid-19 protocol.
State chief minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma took the oath first, followed by former CM and another Bhartiya Janata Party legislator
Sarbananda Sonowal and former assembly speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami (also saffron legislator). State BJP president Ranjeet Kumar Dass, State ministers from the saffron party Chandra Mohan Patowary, Dr Ranoj Pegu, Ajanta Neog, Bimal Bora followed them.
Assam Governor professor Jagdish Mukhi is scheduled to address the second day’s session of the legislative assembly, where the third (also last) day is scheduled for 24 May as the previous day is Sunday.
Most legislators took oath in Assamese language, where some opted for Bengali, Bodo, Nepali and also Sanskrit. Saffron legislator Biswajit Daimary was later elected as speaker of the assembly with Numal Momin as deputy speaker. Former Rajya Sabha member Daimary, who shifted his loyalty from Bodoland People’s Front to BJP, contested the recently concluded assembly polls and emerged victorious.
Meanwhile, Debabrata Saikia was reelected as the leader of opposition in the assembly following his selection as the leader of Congress legislature party. He was unanimously elected to the position and it
was conveyed to the assembly speaker by the State Congress leadership.
Rakibul Hussain was chosen as deputy leader of the party. Senior Congress legislator Wajed Ali Choudhury was selected as chief whip of the party and Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha is assigned as the deputy chief whip. Rupjyoti Kurmi was chosen as the secretary of Congress legislature party, where Sushanta Borgohain and Rekibuddin Ahmed were assigned as the spokesperson and treasurer respectively Jailed activist and an elected representative Akhil Gogoi also took oath on the first day as he received a special permission from the court. President of newly formed political party Raijor Dal, Gogoi was taken to the assembly campus by a group of men in uniform in a bus. As usual, Gogoi remained vocal against the police mishandling on the way.
Gogoi, who fought assembly elections from the jail as he had been in the judicial custody since December 2019 in connection with a National Investigation Agency case following his arrest under the unlawful activities prevention act (UAPA). He was the only independent candidate to win the polls where the BJP led alliance succeeded in 75 seats.
BJP nominees won in 60 assembly constituencies, where as its allies Asom Gana Parishad succeeded in 9 and United People’s Party Liberal in 6 seats. The Congress won 29 seats and its allies All India United Democratic Front emerged victorious in 16, BPF in 4, CPI-M in 1 seat.
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