Sarbananda Sonowal the Designate Chief Minister of Assam

Sarbananda Sonowal is the current Union Minister for Sports & Youth Affairs. BJP had nominated him as Chief Ministerial candidate for the state of Assam before the Assam Assembly Elections 2016. After BJP's win in Assam he is now the designate Chief Minister of Assam.

Sonowal is the Member of Parliament from Lakhimpur Lok Sabha Constituency of Assam. He is considered a dynamic young politician with a firebrand image. He is considered as a Jatiya Nayak in Assam. The title was bestowed to him by AASU which is the oldest student body in Assam.

Personal Details:

He was born in 1962, at Dinjan, Dibrugarh, Assam

Career:

• President of the All Assam Students Union from 1992 to 1999
• Chairman - North East Students Organisation, 1996-2000
• From 2001 to 04 was MLA from Moran Constituency in Assam
• In 2004 he was elected to the 14th Lok Sabha from Dibrugarh Constituency representing Asom Gana Parishad (AGP)
• In 2005 played a key role in removal of the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act, 1983. This success earned him the title Jatiya Nayak.
• In 2005 he was appointed member of consultative committee for Ministry of Home Affairs
• He was consultative committee member for Ministry of Commerce and Industry in 2006
• Resigned from all executive posts within AGP and left the party in 2011
• He was appointed as National Executive Member of BJP after he joined BJP on the 8th of February 2011
• He was also appointed as State Spokesperson and General Secretary for Assam BJP in 2011
• In 2012 he got the post of State President for Assam BJP
• In 2014 he was given responsibility to head Assam BJP for the 16th Lok Sabha Elections
• He was elected as Member of Parliament, 16th Lok Sabha from Lakhimpur Constituency in 2014
• May 2014 to November 2014 was Minister of State-Skill Development and Minister of State-Entrepreneurship
• Incumbent Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports
• In 2016 he was declared as BJP Chief minister candidate for 2016 Assam assembly elections

Campaign for 2016 Assam Assembly Election:

Sonowal himself contested the Assam Assembly Election from river island of Majuli that represents the Vashnavite culture. During the entire campaign he compared the election with the Battle of Sariaghat wherein Mughals were defeated by the local Ahoms in the year 1671.

Sonowal during the campaign talked about the government of the Assamese people which helped party connect with Assamese people who are tired of illegal immigrants. Sonowal had great connect with the tribals and students.

Students in huge numbers volunteered for BJP and spread party's message among people of the state. Sonowal is the leader of the largest students' body in Assam and this helped him attract the youth of the state.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi while campaigning in Assam used to say, "Sabka Anand, Sarbananda" which means for the joy of everyone we have Sarbananda.

During the campaign Sonowal's strength was that he could relate to the Hindi and Bengali speaking Hindus living in Assam.

Promises made by Sonowal:

1. Will seal the border between India and BAngladesh to check illegal infiltration
2. Will protect Indian citizens
3. Will make it high priority the preparation of National Register of Citizens (NRC)