Himanta Biswa Sarma is to be sworn in as the Chief Minister of Assam on May 10, 2021. He is to replace Sarbananda Sonowal. Both the candidates are from BJP. Sarbananda recently resigned.

Chief Minister of the state

The Chief Minister is appointed by the Governor. It is to be noted that only Members of the Legislative Assembly or Members of the Parliament are elected by the people. The Chief Minister and the Prime Minister are appointed by the Governor and President respectively.

After the election, the party that secures majority in the house elects its leader. The leader’s name is then communicated to the Governor. The Governor appoints the CM and then asks the CM to appoint his council of ministers. The Governor can ask the single largest party to form the government when no party gets majority in the state.

The State Assembly shall remove him from power by passing Vote of No Confidence against him. Also, the Governor shall dismiss him if he loses his majority support.

A person not belonging to the Legislative Assembly or to the Legislative Council shall also be appointed as the Chief Minister. However, he or she should be elected to either of the houses within six months of his or her tenure. Like Mamta Banerjee was sworn in as the Chief Minister of West Bengal. She was sworn in as the CM of West Bengal even though she lost in the Assembly elections to Suvendu Adhikari by a margin of 1956 votes.

Constitutional Provisions

• Article 163: The Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers advise the Governor
• Article 164: Governor appoints the Chief Minister. The Governor then appoints the ministers based on the recommendation of the Chief Minister.
• Article 166: Conduct of Business of the State Government
• Article 167: Duties of Chief Minister
• The Chief Minister and Prime Minster provisions are not mentioned in the constitution.