Himanta Biswa Sarma

Himanta Biswa Sarma
Member of Assam Legislative Assembly
Assumed office
2001
Preceded by Bhrigu Kumar Phukan
Constituency Jalukbari
Minister for P.W.D, Health and Finance (Assam)
Assumed office
24 May 2016
Minister for Finance, Health & Family Welfare, PWD, Transformation & Development (Assam)
In office
2011–2014
Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Assam
In office
2006–2011
Minister of State for Finance and Planning and Development
In office
1 September 2004 – June 2006
Minister of State for Agriculture and Planning and Development
In office
7 June 2002 – 31 August 2004
Personal details
Born (1969-02-01) 1 February 1969
Jorhat, Assam, India
Nationality Indian
Political party

Indian National Congress (1996–2015)

Bharatiya Janata Party (2015–present)
Spouse(s) Riniki Bhuyan Sarma
Children Nandil, Sukanya
Parents Late Kailash Nath Sarma (Father)
Residence Guwahati
Alma mater Gauhati University
Occupation Politician
Website www.himantabiswasarma.com

Himanta Biswa Sarma (born 1 February 1969) is an Indian politician who has served as MLA from the Jalukbari constituency in Assam from 2001 till 2015 from Indian National Congress ticket and from May 2016 as Bharatiya Janata Party member.[1] A former member of the Indian National Congress, Dr Sarma joined Bharatiya Janata Party in August 2015.[2]

Dr Sarma won the 2016 Assembly elections and was sworn in as Cabinet Minister on 24 May 2016. The BJP leadership appointed him the convener of the newly constituted North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA). The main objective of the alliance will be all-round development of the North East and better coordination among the states and Centre, according to Ram Madhav, National General Secretary of BJP.[3]

Background

Sarma passed his School Leaving Certificate examination from Kamrup Academy School, Guwahati in 1985 and joined Cotton College, Guwahati for further studies. He was General Secretary (GS) of Cotton College Union Society (CCUS) from 1991 to 1992. He did his graduation in 1990 and post graduation in 1992 in political science from the Cotton College, Guwahati. Sarma did LLB From Government Law College, Guwahati and obtained Ph.D degree from Gauhati University. He was practicing law at Gauhati High Court from 1996 to 2001. He is married to Riniki Bhuyan Sarma. The couple has two children, Nandil and Sukanya.[4]

Political career

Dr Sarma was elected to the Assam Legislative Assembly from Jalukbari for the first time in 2001 when he defeated Asom Gana Parishad leader Bhrigu Kumar Phukan and was re-elected in 2006 and then for the third consecutive term in 2011 with a record margin of more than 75,000 votes. Dr Sarma held important portfolios (both state and cabinet) as Minister of State for Agriculture, Planning & Development, Finance, Health, Education, and Assam Accord Implementation from 2002 to 2014.

During his tenure as Planning & Development Minister Dr Sarma, had introduced many innovative welfare schemes for the people of Assam. He was made Cabinet Minister for Health in 2006, and in 2011 he was also entrusted with the additional charge of Education. It is under his leadership that the health security in Assam had reached a new height. The health sector in Assam had witnessed a massive transformation and it is under his leadership that three Medical colleges in Jorhat, Barpeta and Tezpur came up. He also initiated work for five more medical colleges in Diphu, Nagaon, Dhubri, North Lakhimpur and Kokrajhar, which are now in various stages of implementation.

Even the Government of India in its various annual reports had singularly pointed out the achievements of the Health and Education departments of Assam. It was under his leadership that more than 50,000 teachers were appointed for the first time through a transparent system called Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) after he abolished the system of interviews, which were major reasons for rampant corruption in appointments.[5]

Dr Sarma joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on 23 August 2015 at the residence of Amit Shah at New Delhi. He was appointed as the party's Convener of the Election Management Committee for the upcoming Assembly Elections in the state. Subsequently, he won the Assembly elections and became a Cabinet Minister in the first BJP government in the North East India. Previously Dr Sarma has served three terms as a MLA in Assam on Indian National Congress ticket.[4] He was elected from Jalukbari in 2001 and was re-elected in 2006 and 2011. Sarma has served in the Assam government in various ministerial portfolios.[4] After political differences with former chief minister Tarun Gogoi, Dr Sarma resigned from all portfolios on 21 July 2014. He was the MLA of Jalukbari constituency until his resignation from Assembly on 15 September 2015.[4][6]

Recently, in the bypoll for two seats in Manipur – Thangmeiband and Thongju – Dr Sarma had extensively campaigned and the BJP won both the seats.

In May 2016, Dr Sarma won Jalukbari constituency for the fourth consecutive term. He was sworn in as Cabinet Minister on 24 May 2016 and has been allotted portfolios like Finance, Health & Family Welfare, Education, Planning & Development, Tourism, Pension & Public Grievances. Given his political acumen and massive popularity across the North East, the Party has also appointed him as convener of North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA).[7][8][9][3][10]

Sport administrator

On 23 April 2017 Dr Sarma was unanimously elected as President of Badminton Association of India. Dr Sarma has been the president of the Assam Badminton Association. He also became the president of the Assam Cricket Association in June 2016 when his party man Pradip Buragohain became the secretary.[11][12][13][14] Dr Sarma was also the longest-serving vice president of the association serving from 2002 to 2016.

References

  1. ↑ "I told Rahul Gandhi you will not cross 25 seats, he said we will win: BJP MLA Himanta Biswa Sarma".
  2. ↑ "Himanta Biswa Sarma: In 2016 Assam election, Bangladeshi immigrants want their own CM too". Indian Express.
  3. 1 2 "Former Gogoi close aide Himanta Biswa Sarma named convener of NDA's northeast alliance | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis". dna. 24 May 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma" (PDF). Government of Assam. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  5. ↑ Rahman, Daulat (21 August 2015) Interviews back for college teachers. Telegraph India
  6. ↑ Himanta resigns from MLA post. Telegraph India (15 September 2015)
  7. ↑ Himanta Biswa Sarma Named Convener Of BJP's Northeast Alliance. Ndtv.com. Retrieved on 31 August 2017.
  8. ↑ Amit Shah holds meeting with northeast CMs, forms alliance. Hindustantimes.com. Retrieved on 31 August 2017.
  9. ↑ BJP acts east, brass joins the Assam party. Timesofindia.indiatimes.com (25 May 2016). Retrieved on 2017-08-31.
  10. ↑ Sonowal Distributes Portfolios, Himanta Biswa Sarma Gets Finance. Ndtv.com (26 May 2016). Retrieved on 2017-08-31.
  11. ↑ Himanta Biswa Sarma becomes ACA chief. Assam Tribune (13 June 2016). Retrieved on 2017-08-31.
  12. ↑ Himanta Biswa Sarma set to be new Assam CA prez
  13. ↑ High voltage AGM at Barsapara today. Sentinelassam.com. Retrieved on 31 August 2017.
  14. ↑ Himanta Biswa Sarma Set To Become New Assam Cricket Association Chief. Ndtv.com (11 June 2016). Retrieved on 2017-08-31.
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