AN UPHILL CLIMB

On May 2, within hours of a clear trend emerging in favour of the BJP-led alliance in Assam, intense speculation began as to who the next chief minister would be. In fact, choosing the right candidate to helm the state became more challenging for the BJP leadership than winning the state for the second consecutive time. The significance of the decision can be gauged from the fact that the party’s central leadership remained mum on the issue for more than 72 hours. They had to choose between two strong contenders—incumbent chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal and finance, education, health and PWD minister in his cabinet, Himanta Biswa Sarma, who single-handedly managed the party’s electoral campaign, from ticket distribution to logistics