List of chief ministers of Assam

Chief Minister of Assam
Emblem 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
(74 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]

Since 1946, Assam has had 17 chief ministers. Ten of these 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 monopoly in the state was brought to an end when Golap Borbora led the Janata party to victory in the 1978 assembly elections. Borbora consequently became the first non congress chief minister of Assam. Prior to that, Borbora was the first member of the non congress opposition to be elected as a Rajya Sabha member from Assam. Congressman Tarun Gogoi is the longest-serving officeholder, having served for 15 years from 2001 to 2016. Sarbananda Sonowal became the Assam's first chief minister from the Bharatiya Janata Party, when he was sworn in on 24 May 2016. On 9 May 2021, Himanta Biswa Sarma is announced as the 15th chief minister of Assam.[2]

  • Top left: Gopinath Bordoloi was the first chief minister of Assam.
  • Top center: Anwara Taimur was the first and only woman to serve as chief Minister.
  • Top right: Golap Borbora was the first non-Congress chief minister.
  • Bottom left: Prafulla Kumar Mahanta was the first non-Congress chief minister to complete a full 5 year term and the only non-Congress chief minister to date to have served on two occasions.
  • Bottom center: Tarun Gogoi was the longest serving chief minister for 15 years.
  • Bottom right: Himanta Biswa Sarma is the current chief minister.

Prime ministers (1937-50)

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[3] 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

Note: † Died in office

#[c] Portrait Name Constituency Term of office[4] Assembly Party[d]
1 Gopinath Bordoloi Kamrup Sadar (South) 26 January 1950 6 August 1950 192 days 2nd Provincial

(1946 election)

Indian National Congress
2 Bishnuram Medhi Hajo 9 August 1950 28 December 1957 7 years, 141 days
1st

(1952 election)

2nd

(1957 election)

3 Bimala Prasad Chaliha Badarpur 28 December 1957 11 November 1970 12 years, 318 days
Sonari 3rd

(1962 election)

4th

(1967 election)

4 Mahendra Mohan Choudhry Guwahati East 11 November 1970 31 January 1972 1 year, 81 days
5 Sarat Chandra Sinha Bilasipara East 31 January 1972 12 March 1978 6 years, 40 days 5th

(1972 election)

6 Golap Borbora Tinsukia 12 March 1978 9 September 1979 1 year, 181 days 6th

(1978 election)

Janata Party
7 Jogendra Nath Hazarika Duliajan 9 September 1979 11 December 1979 93 days
– Vacant[e]

(President's rule)

N/A 12 December 1979 5 December 1980 359 days N/A
8 Anwara Taimur Dalgaon 6 December 1980 30 June 1981 206 days Indian National Congress
– Vacant[e]

(President's rule)

N/A 30 June 1981 13 January 1982 197 days N/A
9 Kesab Chandra Gogoi Dibrugarh 13 January 1982 19 March 1982 65 days Indian National Congress
– Vacant[e]

(President's rule)

N/A 19 March 1982 27 February 1983 345 days Dissolved N/A
10 Hiteswar Saikia Nazira 27 February 1983 24 December 1985 2 years, 300 days 7th

(1983 election)

Indian National Congress
11 Prafulla Kumar Mahanta Nowgong 24 December 1985 28 November 1990 4 years, 339 days 8th

(1985 election)

Asom Gana Parishad
– Vacant[e]

(President's rule)

N/A 28 November 1990 30 June 1991 214 days Dissolved N/A
(10) Hiteswar Saikia Nazira 30 June 1991 22 April 1996[†] 4 years, 297 days 9th

(1991 election)

Indian National Congress
12 Bhumidhar Barman Barkhetry 22 April 1996 15 May 1996 23 days
(11) Prafulla Kumar Mahanta Barhampur 15 May 1996 18 May 2001 5 years, 3 days 10th

(1996 election)

Asom Gana Parishad
13 Tarun Gogoi Titabar 18 May 2001 24 May 2016 15 years, 6 days 11th

(2001 election)

Indian National Congress
12th

(2006 election)

13th

(2011 election)

14 Sarbananda Sonowal Majuli 24 May 2016 10 May 2021 4 years, 351 days 14th

(2016 election)

Bharatiya Janata Party
15 Himanta Biswa Sarma Jalukbari 10 May 2021 Incumbent 3 years, 223 days 15th

(2021 election)

Timeline

Fraction of time of holding Chief minister's office by party (as of October 2024)

  Bharatiya Janata Party (11.25%)
  Indian National Congress (69.03%)
  Asom Gana Parishad (13.29%)
  Janata Party (2.34%)
  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 parenthetical number indicates that the incumbent has previously held office.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ 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. ^ "Himanta Biswa Sarma Crowned 15th Chief Minister Of Assam". Pratidin Time. 9 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  3. ^ Chief Ministers Archived 16 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine from the Assam Assembly website
  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.