Guwahati, May 5 (IANS): Amidst continuing uncertainty over who would be the next Assam Chief Minister, a top leader of the ruling BJP on Wednesday said that the government formation process would take a couple of days as the central leadership, including party President J.P. Nadda are busy in dealing with the post-poll violence in West Bengal. The senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader said that the central leadership including Nadda, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar an

Guwahati, April 23 (IANS): Amid the rising number of Covid-19 cases in Assam, samples of the double mutant variant of novel coronavirus have been found at the Dibrugarh Airport, the first such detection in the northeastern region, officials said on Friday. Health officials said that before Assam, the double mutant strain was founda in Maharashtra, Delhi and West Bengal. Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted: "Recent samples from Dibrugarh Airport are positive for

Guwahati, April 18 (IANS): Apprehending poaching by the rival party, the main opposition Congress in Assam on Saturday assembled its candidates at a hotel here, party sources said, adding they would stay there till the results of the recently held Assembly election are declared on May 2. "Congress candidates would remain together at a hotel till the results of the Assembly elections were declared on May 2," a party leader said. AICC General Secretary and the party's

Guwahati, March 30 (PTI): Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi Tuesday termed the All India United Democratic Front in Assam, Indian Secular Front in West Bengal and Indian Union Muslim League in Kerala as the "new secular syndicate of the Congress". Naqvi, who is here to campaign in the Assam Assembly elections, told PTI in an exclusive interview, "This new secular syndicate is the height of hypocrisy of the Congress." Congress is partnering wit

Guwahati, March 27 (PTI): An estimated 25.88 per cent of the total 81.09 lakh electors exercised their franchise till 11 am in 47 constituencies of Assam where polling is underway with strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols in the first phase of elections on Saturday. While the polling so far has been peaceful, some complaints of EVM glitches were lodged, an Election Commission official said. Long queues were seen outside polling booths with voters and election officials adhering

Guwahati, March 21 (PTI): The Congress, which faces an imminent defeat in the Assam polls, has become desperate and might resort to politics to divide the society in the state but the BJP will never allow this, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Sunday. Referring to the grand alliance of opposition parties, including Congress, Left parties and AIUDF, formed for the three-phase state elections, he said the Congress'' leadership has thoroughly exposed itself by turning away

Guwahati, March 9 (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Tuesday filed his nomination from Majuli as the BJP candidate for the second consecutive term for the assembly polls. The chief minister filed his papers on the last day of submitting nominations before Majuli Deputy Commissioner Bikram Kairi. Before filing his nomination papers, he addressed a huge rally where NEDA convenor Himanta Biswa Sarma, AGP president Atul Bora, BJP's state unit president Ranjeet Dass

Guwahati, March 9 (PTI): The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) on Tuesday said that it has joined the opposition Congress-led 'Grand Alliance' in Assam and will contest one seat during the first phase of the assembly election. With this, the number of constituents in the Grand Alliance has gone up to eight. RJD Assam president Shonarul Shah Mustafa told PTI that the party has formally joined the opposition grouping and it will contest the Tinsukia constituency which will go to p

Guwahati, March 7 (PTI): A Congress ticket aspirant was injured after he was attacked by supporters of another hopeful outside the venue of the Congress screening committee meeting in Assam on Sunday, sources said. A woman leader of the party also suffered injuries in the incident, they said. The high-level meeting is underway at a luxury resort on the outskirts of Guwahati to decide the second list of Congress candidates for the Assam Assembly polls. Hundreds of supporters of

Guwahati, February 28 (PTI): The symbol of a "ship" has been allotted to the newly formed Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) for the three-phase assembly elections in Assam. Addressing a press conference here, AJP president Lurinjyoti Gogoi said the Election Commission of India (ECI) allotted the party symbol to the regional party on Saturday. "We will fight the polls with the symbol of a ship. Ship signifies our economy, culture, civilisation and trade along the Brahm

Guwahati, February 26 (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Friday formally presented international athlete Hima Das with the letter appointing her to the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police. Das has been appointed under the Integrated Sports Policy of the state government and was handed over the letter at a programme held at Sarusajai Sports Complex here. The chief minister also distributed appointment letters to 597 newly-recruited sub-inspectors in the Assam Po

Guwahati, February 25 (IANS): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has identified the Northeast region as India's "Growth Hub". Addressing a gathering in Nagaon district's Batadrava Than, Shah said the Modi government has already started work to make the region as the growth engine of India. "To take the Northeast development in a mission mode, the Prime Minister had visited the region 35 times in the past five years.

Guwahati, February 24 (IANS): Months before the Assembly polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in Assam on Wednesday extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA), in the state for six more months beyond February 27, an official said. An Assam Home Department official said that the AFSPA has been extended considering the ground situation in Assam and adjoining northeastern states. Various political parties, organisations and civil society groups and activis

Guwahati, February 23 (PTI): Assam Health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of the BJP and AIUDF's Rafiqul Islam are the two most educated legislators, while 62% of the MLAs of the current assembly have studied between class five to 12, according to a report by Association for Democratic Reforms.  Sarma representing Jalukbari assembly constituency and Islam from Jania constituency are both doctorates while the Badarpur Congress MLA Jamaluddin, who died recently, was the least qu

Guwahati, February 22 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that India's growth engine would be further boosted with the development of Assam and the northeastern region. Addressing a massive public gathering at Silapathar in eastern Assam's Dhemaji district, the Prime Minister said that the 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' vision would be further strengthened with the 'Aatmanirbhar Assam' and northeast. "To achieve the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision co

Guwahati, February 21 (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Sunday described the opposition Congress-led ''Mahajoot'' as an "unholy alliance", saying it will not be acceptable to the people of the state as one of its constituents, the AIUDF, espouses the cause of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Sonowal said during the five-year rule of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government, peace was restored in Assam after uprooting insurgency and

Guwahati, February 16 (PTI): Assam Tourism Minister Chandan Brahma registered the highest growth rate of assets while Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta also figure among the top five re- elected MLAs whose assets increased significantly, according to a report. Brahma, who belongs to Bodoland People's Front (BFP) heads the list of the highest growth of assets and is followed by AIUDF's Abdur Rahim Ajmal, Nazrul Islam of Congr

Guwahati, February 15 (PTI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday asserted that Assam is the springboard of India''s Act East Policy and its all-round development is central to the success of the policy. Addressing a press conference here, the minister said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is deeply committed to the development of Assam, and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-aided projects in the state are examples of how international policies and partners

Guwahati, February 14 (PTI): Senior Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday claimed that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi takes advice from "Arabic speaking people", apparently hinting at AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal, and that is why his first election rally in the state was "wasted". The Congress has teamed up with the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) and four other political parties to form a Grand Alliance against the ruling BJP for the assembly elect

Guwahati, February 14 (PTI): Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday made it clear that the ruling BJP will not have any alliance with its existing ally Bodoland People's Front (BPF) in the upcoming Assembly polls in the state. In the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), the BJP has already formed an alliance with the United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) and is currently holding talks with another outfit Gana Suraksha Party (GSP) regarding seat sharing arrangement