The BJP on Tuesday named Union health minister J.P. Nadda as the party’s central observer for the election of its legislature party leader in Assam.

Formally setting in motion the process of formation of the next government in the state, the BJP parliamentary board also named Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini as the co-observer for electing the legislature party leader.

Results of the April 9 single-phase polls saw the ruling BJP-led alliance, comprising AGP and BPF, win 102 of the 126 seats. The BJP alone bagged 82 seats, 18 more than the simple majority.

The BJP, which had won 60 seats in both the 2016 and 2021 polls, along with the AGP and BPF, which won 10 seats each, bettered their 2021 tally.

BJP insiders said the party leadership was “happy with the performance of the state unit as well as the leadership of the incumbent chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma”, when asked if he would get a second term.

A statement issued by state BJP spokesperson Mita Nath Bora on Tuesday said: “This mandate places a renewed responsibility on the Bharatiya Janata Party to serve the people of Assam and with renewed commitment, we will move forward toward building a stronger, more prosperous, and self-reliant Assam. The formation of the new government will take place under the guidance of J.P. Nadda, former National President of the party and Member of Parliament, along with Nayab Singh Saini, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Haryana.”

Cong reaction

Addressing his first press meet at the Rajiv Bhavan here on Tuesday after the results were declared on Monday, Assam PCC president Gaurav Gogoi said: “We have accepted the election results and extend our best wishes to the BJP. We hope they will solve the problems that could not be resolved in the past five years with new thinking and new energy.”

Gogoi lost the elections from the Jorhat Assembly seat by a whopping 23,182 votes to sitting Jorhat MLA Hitendra Nath Goswami.

On the huge margin of defeats, Gogoi said: “People, journalists and intellectuals were discussing that many constituencies would see a 50-50 fight. We expected neck-to-neck fights. People thought the results in many seats would be within 5,000 to 10,000 votes, but the gap is vast. We will have to review the results of several seats in the
coming days.”