Himanta Biswa Sarma

Himanta Biswa Sarma
Member of Assam Legislative Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office 2001
Preceded by	Bhrigu Kumar Phukan
Constituency	Jalukbari
Minister for P.W.D, Health and Finance (Assam)
Incumbent
Assumed office 24 May 2016
Minister for Finance, Health & Family Welfare, PWD, Transformation & Development (Assam)
In office 2011–2014
Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Assam
In office 2006–2011
Minister of State for Finance and Planning and Development
In office 1 September 2004 – June 2006
Minister of State for Agriculture and Planning and Development
In office 7 June 2002 – 31 August 2004
Personal details
Born	(1969-02-01) 1 February 1969 Jorhat, Assam, India
Political party	AGP Indian National Congress (1996–2015) Bharatiya Janata Party (2015–present)
Spouse	Rinki Bhuyan Sarma
Children	Nandil, Sukanya
Parent	Late Kailash Nath Sarma (Father)
Residence	Guwahati
Alma mater	Gauhati University Cotton University
Occupation	Politician
Website	www.himantabiswasarma.com

Himanta Biswa Sarma (born 1 February 1969) is an Indian politician who has been serving as an MLA from Jalukbari constituency in Assam from 2001 till 2015 from Indian National Congress, and from May 2016 as a Bharatiya Janata Party member. The former member of the Indian National Congress, Sarma joined Bharatiya Janata Party in August 2015.

Sarma won the 2016 Assembly elections and was sworn in as Cabinet Minister on 24 May 2016. The BJP leadership appointed him the convener of the North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) of which the main objective is an all-round development of the North East and better coordination among the states and Centre, according to Ram Madhav, National General Secretary of BJP.

Background

Sarma passed his Schooling from Kamrup Academy School, Guwahati in 1985 and joined Cotton College, Guwahati for further studies. He was General Secretary (GS) of Cotton college Student's Union from 1991 to 1992. He did his graduation in 1990 and post graduation in 1992 in political science from the Cotton College, Guwahati. Sarma did LLB From Government Law College, Guwahati and obtained Ph.D degree from Gauhati University. He was practicing law at Gauhati High Court from 1996 to 2001. He is married to Riniki Bhuyan Sarma. The couple has two children, Nandil and Sukanya.

Political career

Sarma was elected to the Assam Legislative Assembly from Jalukbari for the first time in 2001 when he defeated Asom Gana Parishad leader Bhrigu Kumar Phukan and was re-elected in 2006 and then for the third consecutive term in 2011 with a record margin of more than 75,000 votes. Sarma held important portfolios (both state and cabinet) as Minister of State for Agriculture, Planning & Development, Finance, Health, Education, and Assam Accord Implementation from 2002 to 2014.

He was made Cabinet Minister for Health in 2006, and in 2011 he was also entrusted with the additional charge of Education. During his tenure, three Medical colleges in Jorhat, Barpeta and Tezpur came up. He also initiated work for five more medical colleges in Diphu, Nagaon, Dhubri, North Lakhimpur and Kokrajhar, which are now in various stages of implementation.

Even the Government of India in its various annual reports had singularly pointed out the achievements of the Health and Education departments of Assam. During his tenure more than 50,000 teachers were appointed for the first time through TET after he abolished the system of interviews.

Sarma joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on 23 August 2015 at the residence of Amit Shah at New Delhi. He was appointed as the party's Convener of the Election Management Committee for the upcoming Assembly Elections in the state. Subsequently, he won the Assembly elections and became a Cabinet Minister in the first BJP government in the North East India. Previously Sarma has served three terms as an MLA in Assam on Indian National Congress ticket. He was elected from Jalukbari in 2001 and was re-elected in 2006 and 2011. After political differences with former chief minister Tarun Gogoi, Sarma resigned from all portfolios on 21 July 2014. He was the MLA of Jalukbari constituency until his resignation from Assembly on 15 September 2015.

In May 2016, Sarma won Jalukbari constituency for the fourth consecutive term and was sworn in as Cabinet Minister on 24 May and has been allotted portfolios like Finance, Health & Family Welfare, Education, Planning & Development, Tourism, Pension & Public Grievances.

Sport administrator

On 23 April 2017, Sarma was unanimously elected as President of Badminton Association of India. Sarma has been the president of the Assam Badminton Association. He also became the president of the Assam Cricket Association in June 2016 when his party man Pradip Buragohain became the secretary. Sarma was also the longest-serving vice president of the association serving from 2002 to 2016.

External links

• Official website
• Himanta Biswa Sarma on X
• Himanta Biswa Sarma on Facebook