Chief Minister of Assam

Chief Minister of Assam
since 10 May 2021
StatusHead of government
AbbreviationCM
Member ofAssam Legislative Assembly
Assam Council of Ministers
Reports toGovernor of Assam
AppointerGovernor of Assam
Term lengthAt the confidence of the Assembly
Five years and is subject to no term limits.[1]
PrecursorPremier of Assam
Inaugural holderGopinath Bordoloi
Formation26 January 1950
(75 years ago)
 (1950-01-26)
DeputyDeputy Chief Minister of Assam

The chief minister of Assam, an Indian state, is the head of the government of Assam. As per the Constitution of India, the governor is the state's de jure head, but de facto executive authority rests with the chief minister. Following elections to the Assam Legislative Assembly, the governor usually invites the party (or coalition) with a majority of seats to form the government. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose council of ministers are collectively responsible to the assembly. Given that he has the confidence of the assembly, the chief minister's term is for five years and is subject to no term limits.[1]Chief Minister also serves as Leader of the House in the Legislative Assembly.[2]

Since 1946, Assam has had 17 chief ministers. Ten of them belonged to the Indian National Congress, including Gopinath Bordoloi, the first chief minister of Assam, and Anwara Taimur, India's first female Muslim chief minister. Congress party's continuous rule in the state was brought to an end when Golap Borbora led the Janata party to victory in the 1978 elections. Borbora consequently became the first non-Congress chief minister of the state. Prior to that, Borbora was also the first non-Congress leader to be elected to the Rajya Sabha from the state. Congressman Tarun Gogoi is the longest-serving officeholder, having served for 15 years between 2001 and 2016. Sarbananda Sonowal became the first chief minister from the Bharatiya Janata Party, when he was sworn in on 24 May 2016. On 9 May 2021, Himanta Biswa Sarma was announced as the 15th chief minister of Assam.[3]

Oath as the state chief minister

The chief minister serves five years in the office. The following is the oath of the chief minister of state:

I, <Name of Chief Minister>, do swear in the name of God/solemnly affirm that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, that I will faithfully and conscientiously discharge my duties as a Minister for the State of () and that I will do right to all manner of people in accordance with the Constitution and the law without fear or favour, affection or ill-will.

Prime Ministers of Assam (1935–1950)

Under the Government of India Act 1935, a bicameral legislature was set up with a legislative assembly and a legislative council. The premier of Assam was the head of the government and leader of the legislative assembly of Assam Province.

#[a] Portrait Name Constituency Term of office[4] Assembly Party[b]

(coalition)

1 Muhammed Saadulah Kamrup (South) 1 April 1937 19 September

1938

1 year, 171 days 1st

Provincial

(1937 election)

Assam Valley Party

(INC)

2 Gopinath Bordoloi Kamrup Sadar (South) 19 September

1938

17 November

1939

1 year, 59 days Indian National Congress
(1) Muhammed Saadulah Kamrup (South) 17 November

1939

24 December 1941 2 years, 37 days Assam Valley Party

(AIML)

- - Vacant

(Governor's Rule)

- 25 December 1941 24 August 1942 242 days Dissolved N/A
(1) Muhammed Saadulah Kamrup (South) 25 August 1942 11 February 1946 3 years, 170 days 1st

Provincial

(1937 election)

Assam Valley Party

(AIML)

(2) Gopinath Bordoloi Kamrup Sadar (South) 11 February 1946 25 January 1950 3 years, 349 days 2nd Provincial

(1946 election)

Indian National Congress

Chief Ministers of Assam (1950–present)

  • Died in office
  • § Returned to office after a previous non-consecutive term
# Portrait Chief Minister
(Birth-Death)
Constituency
Election Term of office Political party Ministry
From To Period
1 Gopinath Bordoloi
(1890–1950)
MLA for Kamrup Sadar (South)
1946
(Provincial)
26 January 1950 5 August 1950[†] 191 days Indian National Congress Bordoloi
2 Bishnuram Medhi
(1888–1981)
MLA for Hajo (from 1951)
9 August 1950 28 December 1957 7 years, 141 days Medhi I
1952 Medhi II
1957 Medhi III
3 Bimala Prasad Chaliha
(1912–1971)
MLA for Badarpur (until 1962)
MLA for Sonari (from 1962)
28 December 1957 11 November 1970 12 years, 348 days Chaliha I
1962 Chaliha II
1967 Chaliha III
4 Mahendra Mohan Choudhry
(1909–1982)
MLA for Gauhati East
11 November 1970 31 January 1972 1 year, 81 days Choudhry
5 Sarat Chandra Singha
(1914–2005)
MLA for Bilasipara East
1972 31 January 1972 12 March 1978 6 years, 40 days Sinha
6 Golap Borbora
(1925–2006)
MLA for Tinsukia
1978 12 March 1978 9 September 1979 1 year, 181 days Janata Party Borbora
7 Jogendra Nath Hazarika
(1924–1998)
MLA for Duliajan
9 September 1979 11 December 1979 93 days Hazarika
Position vacant (12 December 1979 – 5 December 1980)
President's rule was imposed during this period[c]
8 Anwara Taimur
(1936–2020)
MLA for Dalgaon
6 December 1980 30 June 1981 206 days Indian National Congress Taimur
Position vacant (30 June 1981 – 13 January 1982)
President's rule was imposed during this period[c]
9 Kesab Chandra Gogoi
(1925–1998)
MLA for Dibrugarh
13 January 1982 19 March 1982 65 days Indian National Congress Kesab
Position vacant (19 March 1982 – 27 February 1983)
President's rule was imposed during this period[c]
10 Hiteswar Saikia
(1934–1996)
MLA for Nazira
1983 27 February 1983 24 December 1985 2 years, 300 days Indian National Congress Saikia I
11 Prafulla Kumar Mahanta
(born 1952)
MLA for Nowgong
1985 24 December 1985 28 November 1990 4 years, 339 days Asom Gana Parishad Mahanta I
Position vacant (28 November 1990 – 30 June 1991)
President's rule was imposed during this period[c]
(10) Hiteswar Saikia
(1934–1996)
MLA for Nazira
1991 30 June 1991[§] 22 April 1996[†] 4 years, 297 days Indian National Congress Saikia II
12 Bhumidhar Barman
(1931–2021)
MLA for Barkhetry
22 April 1996 15 May 1996 23 days Barman
(11) Prafulla Kumar Mahanta
(born 1952)
MLA for Barhampur
1996 15 May 1996[§] 18 May 2001 5 years, 3 days Asom Gana Parishad Mahanta II
13 Tarun Gogoi
(1934–2020)
MLA for Titabar
2001 18 May 2001 24 May 2016 15 years, 6 days Indian National Congress Tarun I
2006 Tarun II
2011 Tarun III
14 Sarbananda Sonowal
(born 1962)
MLA for Majuli
2016 24 May 2016 10 May 2021 4 years, 351 days Bharatiya Janata Party Sonowal
15 Himanta Biswa Sarma
(born 1969)
MLA for Jalukbari
2021 10 May 2021 Incumbent 4 years, 251 days Sarma

Statistics

List by chief minister

# Chief Minister Party Term of office
Longest continuous term Total duration of chief ministership
1 Tarun Gogoi INC 15 years, 6 days 15 years, 6 days
2 Bimala Prasad Chaliha INC 12 years, 318 days 12 years, 318 days
3 Prafulla Kumar Mahanta AGP 5 years, 3 days 9 years, 342 days
4 Hiteswar Saikia INC 4 years, 297 days 7 years, 232 days
5 Bishnuram Medhi INC 7 years, 141 days 7 years, 141 days
6 Sarat Chandra Sinha INC 6 years, 40 days 6 years, 40 days
7 Sarbananda Sonowal BJP 4 years, 351 days 4 years, 351 days
8 Himanta Biswa Sarma* BJP* 4 years, 251 days* 4 years, 251 days*
9 Golap Borbora JP 1 year, 181 days 1 year, 181 days
10 Mahendra Mohan Choudhry INC 1 year, 81 days 1 year, 81 days
11 Anwara Taimur INC 0 year, 206 days 0 year, 206 days
12 Gopinath Bordoloi INC 0 year, 192 days 0 year, 192 days
13 Kesab Chandra Gogoi INC 0 year, 65 days 0 year, 65 days
14 Jogendra Nath Hazarika JP 0 year, 93 days 0 year, 93 days
15 Bhumidhar Barman INC 0 year, 23 days 0 year, 23 days

Timeline

Fraction of time of holding Chief minister's office by party (as of December 2025)
  1. Bharatiya Janata Party (11.2%)
  2. Indian National Congress (69.0%)
  3. Asom Gana Parishad (13.3%)
  4. Janata Party (2.34%)
  5. President's Rule (4.09%)
Himanta Biswa SarmaSarbananda SonowalTarun GogoiBhumidhar BarmanPrafulla Kumar MahantaHiteswar SaikiaKesab Chandra GogoiAnwara TaimurJogendra Nath HazarikaGolap BorboraSarat Chandra SinghaMahendra Mohan ChoudhryBimala Prasad ChalihaBishnuram MedhiGopinath Bordoloi

See also

Notes

  1. ^ A parenthetical number indicates that the incumbent has previously held office.
  2. ^ This column only names the chief minister's party. The state government he heads may be a complex coalition of several parties and independents; these are not listed here.
  3. ^ a b c d When President's rule is in force in a state, its council of ministers stands dissolved. The office of chief minister thus lies vacant. At times, the legislative assembly also stands dissolved.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b Durga Das Basu. Introduction to the Constitution of India. 1960. 20th Edition, 2011 Reprint. pp. 241, 245. LexisNexis Butterworths Wadhwa Nagpur. ISBN 978-81-8038-559-9. Note: although the text talks about Indian state governments in general, it applies for the specific case of Assam as well.
  2. ^ https://apuat21.cgg.gov.in/web/legislative-assembly/leader-of-the-house
  3. ^ "Himanta Biswa Sarma Crowned 15th Chief Minister Of Assam". Pratidin Time. 9 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  4. ^ Chief Ministers Archived 16 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine from the Assam Assembly website
  5. ^ Amberish K. Diwanji. "A dummy's guide to President's rule". Rediff.com. 15 March 2005. Retrieved on 3 March 2013.