Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar and BJP general secretary Arun Singh have been appointed as central observers for the election of the leader of the Assam legislative party.
The development follows meetings between the BJP top brass and incumbent Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal and his cabinet colleague Himanta Biswa Sarma. The two leaders were summoned to Delhi from Assam on Saturday to discuss who will head the next Assam cabinet. The saffron party is likely to choose between the two for the CM’s post.
While Sonowal belongs to Assam's indigenous Sonowal-Kachari tribals, Sarma is the convenor of the North East Democratic Alliance.
According to political analysts, the BJP has no reason to remove the incumbent chief minister but Sarma is an influential leader in the region who powered BJP's rule in Assam.
The BJP legislative party meeting to decide the next Assam CM is expected to be held on Sunday.
The BJP parliamentary board, the highest decision-making body of the party, also appointed Union minister G Kishan Reddy the central observer for election of the leader of the BJP MLAs in the Tamil Nadu assembly.
For the meeting of its West Bengal MLAs to elect their leader, the BJP appointed Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and party general secretary Bhupender Yadav as central observers.
(With PTI inputs)
