The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has called its legislature party meeting on Sunday, following which it will announce name of Assam's next chief minister. The meeting will start around 11am and will be held in the Assam Assembly building in Dispur.
The decision was taken after a high-level meeting of the BJP's central leadership in New Delhi.
Sources say the BJP legislature party is likely to elect Himanta Biswa Sarma as its leader, paving the wave for him to become the next chief minister. A formal announcement to this effect will also be made.
Around 4pm, a BJP delegation is expected to call upon Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi to stake claim to form government in the state.
Assam state BJP president Ranjeet Kumar Dass said following directives of the central leadership, all elected MLAs have been asked to attend the legislature party meeting.
"The chief minister's name will be announced in the meeting. Four senior leaders of the party -- BL Santosh, Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar, BJP national general secretary Arun Singh, party's state in-charge Baijayant Jay Panda -- will attend the meeting. We have a single agenda to select leader of the BJP legislature party," Ranjeet Kumar Dass said.
On Saturday, a crucial meeting was held at the residence of BJP national president JP Nadda in New Delhi to discuss name of Assam's next chief minister. Discussions were also held with incumbent Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and state minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in presence of Union home minister Amit Shah.
Sonowal, who belongs to Assam's indigenous Sonowal-Kachari tribals, and Sarma, an Assamese Brahmin who is the convenor of the North East Democratic Alliance, are contenders for the top post of the Assam government.
The BJP had not announced a chief ministerial candidate before the Assembly polls in Assam.
In the 2016 Assembly polls, the BJP had projected Sonowal as its chief ministerial candidate and won, forming the first saffron party government in the northeast.
This time, the party has been maintaining that it would decide who would be the next chief minister of Assam after the elections.
(With agency inputs)
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