Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday claimed that former Congress president Sonia Gandhi had once asked him to decide the date of his swearing-in as Assam chief minister in 2014, when 58 party MLAs were allegedly backing his candidature.
Speaking to the media after a Cabinet meeting at the state legislative assembly, Sarma said the plan did not materialise following intervention from Rahul Gandhi, who was abroad at the time.
“Madam (Sonia Gandhi) had asked me to decide on the date, and I had told her that I would take oath after the Ambubachi Mela at Kamakhya Temple in June (2014),” Sarma said.
According to him, the situation changed after Rahul Gandhi “made phone calls” to party leaders. While he did not elaborate on the details of those conversations, Sarma suggested that they altered the course of events within the Assam Congress unit.
The Congress in Assam had witnessed internal dissent after the 2011 Assembly elections, with a section of legislators backing Sarma as chief minister instead of the then incumbent, Tarun Gogoi. The leadership issue remained unresolved, and Sarma eventually resigned from the party in 2015 to join the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Reflecting on the episode, Sarma said he was hurt at the time but now views the turn of events differently.
“I was hurt then, but now I believe that whatever happens in one’s life is for the best and God has given me much more than what I would have got, had I remained in the Congress,” he said.
He added that becoming chief minister under the BJP had given him opportunities he believes would not have been possible otherwise.
“As the BJP CM, I got a chance to serve both Assam and Sanatan Dharma wholeheartedly, which would not have been possible had I been in the Congress,” he said.
Sarma, who has been serving as Assam's chief minister since 2021, said he may disclose further details about the developments of that period if he ever writes a book.
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