Cabinet Expansion in Assam Scheduled for December 7
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Dispur (Assam), Dec 6 (NationPress) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has confirmed that the expansion of the state cabinet will occur on December 7.
On that day, four Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs will be sworn into the Assam Cabinet, taking their oaths of office at noon.
In a post on Thursday on X, Chief Minister Sarma wrote, "I am pleased to announce that the following colleagues will be taking their oaths as ministers in our cabinet on December 7 at 12 p.m. -- Prasanta Phookan (MLA), Kaushik Rai (MLA), Krishnendu Paul (MLA), and Rupesh Goala (MLA). My best wishes to each of them!"
Prasanta Phookan serves the Dibrugarh constituency, Kaushik Rai represents Lakhipur, Krishnendu Paul is from Patharkandi, and Rupesh Goala hails from Doomdooma.
This cabinet expansion will raise the number of ministers in the Council of Ministers to 20.
The Assam Assembly comprises a total of 126 MLAs, meaning that 19 ministers can operate simultaneously.
In the meantime, Tea Welfare and Labour Minister Sanjoy Kishan has stepped down from his position, as per official sources.
Among the newly appointed ministers, Sarma has chosen two from the tea belt regions of Dibrugarh and Doom Dooma in Upper Assam, while the other two are from the Barak Valley seats of Lakhipur and Patharkandi.
Phookan, aged 70, is a seasoned BJP politician who has represented Dibrugarh for four consecutive terms since 2006.
Goala, a former student leader from the tea tribe, joined the BJP prior to the 2021 Assembly elections, winning his seat in Doom Dooma during his first electoral attempt.
Kaushik Rai, a 50-year-old first-time MLA, will receive a ministerial position from the Lakhipur constituency in Cachar district, alongside his party mate Krishnendu Paul, who at 51, represents Patharkandi in his second consecutive term since 2016.
CM Sarma leads a coalition government under the NDA in Assam, which has 84 members in the 126-member assembly.
He last expanded his ministry on June 9, 2022, when he inducted two BJP legislators -- Nandita Garlosa and Jayanta Malla Baruah -- as Cabinet Ministers.
