Who will be the next Chief Minister? Ball in BJP MLAs' court

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: After a five-hour-long marathon discussion by the party high command with Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in New Delhi on Saturday, the ball is now at the BJP Legislature Party's (BJPLP) court to decide their leader – the next Chief Minister of the State.

Following a call from the party high command on Friday, both Sarbananda Sonowal and Himanta Biswa Sarma went to New Delhi this morning to meet BJP's national president JP Nadda.

In the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP's organizational secretary BL Santosh, Nadda had almost an hour-long meeting with Himanta Biswa Sarma first in his residence on Saturday.

The trio – Nadda, Shah and Santosh – also had a similar meeting with Sarbananda Sonowal on the issue of the next Chief Minister of the State.

The party high command then had a meeting with both Sarbananda Sonowal and Himanta Biswa Sarma together.

After the prolonged discussion on the issue, Himanta Biswa Sarma told the media in New Delhi that the BJPLP might meet in Guwahati on Sunday when the media would get the replies to all queries.

According to standing rules, choosing their leaders is the prerogative of the newly-elected legislators. Since both Sonowal and Himanta are claimants of the post of the Chief Minister, in this case, the party high command thought it prudent to discuss the matter with both of them. After the discussion, the party is now back to the procedure.

Now things depend much on the modus operandi of Sunday's BJPLP meeting. One probable option is – the party high command might have chosen one of the two as the BJPLP leader to be the next Chief Minister. The chosen name might be placed before the newly elected legislators for their support.

The second option is the newly-elected legislators of the party may be given the free hand to choose their leader. If this option is followed, Himanta Biswa Sarma will enjoy an edge over Sarbananda Sonowal as most of the elected BJP legislators got party tickets through the former. Already several newly-elected BJP legislators have extended their support to Himanta Biswa Sarma.

According to statements emanating from the BJP over the past few days, the Parliamentary Board of the party would decide the next Chief Minister of Assam. The Board comprises Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Nitin Gadkari, Rajnath Singh, JP Nadda, BL Santosh and others.

Nadda and Shah will discuss today's development with the Parliamentary Board that may take a decision of its own on the issue of the next Chief Minister.

Also Read: Assam's Next CM: 3rd Round of Discussions End in New Delhi, Decision Likely on Sunday

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