Thaindian News

Guwahati, May 27 (IANS) Eighteen ministers of the Tarun Gogoi-led Congress government in Assam were sworn in Friday two weeks after election results were declared.

Governor J.B. Patnaik administered the oaths of office and secrecy to the ministers of which 14 are of cabinet rank and the remaining four are ministers of state with independent charge.

Gogoi was sworn in as chief minister May 18, but he took nearly two weeks to finalize the list of his council of ministers. Congress won an emphatic victory bagging 78 of the 126 assembly seats. The Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), an ally of the Congress, won 12 seats.

Of the 18 ministers, one is from the BPF. In the earlier cabinet, there were three ministers from the BPF.

“We are committed to working for the overall development of the state. Being in power for the third straight term means the responsibilities on us are manifold,” the chief minister told IANS soon after the swearing-in function.

“Undoubtedly, we have to work even harder and with utmost sincerity now. People of Assam voted us to power for the third term and hence the expectations would be even more,” Himanta Biswa Sarma, sworn-in as cabinet minister, said.

There were eight new faces in the cabinet.

“This would be my first tenure as minister and I shall strive hard to do justice to my position and am ready to take up whatever responsibilities are vested on me,” Basanta Das, a minister of state, said.

The portfolios would be announced soon.