Assam Governor PB Acharya on Friday administered the oath of office and secrecy to 14 Ministers of the Tarun Gogoi Government. The new Council of Ministers includes 11 Cabinet Ministers and three Ministers of State (Independent charge). The 11 Cabinet rank Ministers who were sworn in on Friday are Bhumidhar Barman, Sarat Barkataky, Ajanta Neog, Nazrul Islam, Rakibul Hussain, Chandan Kumar Sarkar, Khor Sing Engti, Sukur Ali, Ajit Singh, Basanta Das and Atuwa Munda.
On the other hand, Sumitra Doley Patir, Girindra Mallik and Bismita Gogoi were sworn in as Ministers of State (Independent). This is the first ever reshuffle in the 14-year rule of the Congress in Assam. While the Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi inducted the 14 Ministers, four seats of Ministers still remain vacant. Gogoi is expected to fill up the four vacancies after the elections to the municipal bodies and town committees across the State, which will be held on February 10.
The reshuffle had been pending for almost two years now and it is seen by a section as the Congress strategy to face the 2016 State Assembly polls, particularly after the party's debacle in the last lok Sabha polls. Among the newly inducted Ministers, Bhumidhar Barman held the office of Chief Minister for a brief period of 23 days in 1996 while Sarat Barkataky served as Education Minister of the State earlier. Ajanta Neog, Nazrul Islam, Rockybul Hussain, Khorsing Engti, Ajit Singh, Basanta Das had been Ministers in the erstwhile Cabinet of Gogoi. Chandan Sarkar, Sukur Ali, Atuwa Munda, Sumitra Doley Patir, Girindra Mallik and Bismita Gogoi are the first timers.
The Chief Minister said that the Government would function even better now. "The pace of development in the State will fasten now. There are new faces among the Ministers but they will learn," Gogoi told media after the swearing-in ceremony. The Assam Chief Minister further said that the party would win the 2016 State Assembly elections.