First session of 16th Assam Assembly to begin on May 21

The first session of the newly elected 16th Assam Legislative Assembly will commence on May 21 at the Assembly Chamber in Dispur, according to an official notification issued by the Assembly Secretariat.

The notification, issued on the orders of Lakshman Prasad Acharya, stated that the session will begin at 9.30 a.m.

“In exercise of the powers conferred under Article 174 of the Constitution of India, the Governor of Assam has summoned the first session of the Sixteenth Assam Legislative Assembly to meet on May 21 at the Assembly Chamber in Dispur,” the notification said.

Meanwhile, senior BJP legislator Chandra Mohan Patowary was on Friday sworn in as the pro-tem Speaker by the Governor. As pro-tem Speaker, he will administer the oath to newly elected members of the Assembly during the first sitting.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had earlier said that the four-day Assembly session would continue till May 26. Newly elected legislators will take oath on the opening day, while the election of the new Speaker will also take place during the session.

The ruling NDA has named senior BJP leader and former minister Ranjeet Kumar Dass as its candidate for the Speaker’s post. Dass had earlier served as Speaker after the BJP-led government first came to power in the state in 2016.

The Governor is also expected to address the House on the first day of the session.

The NDA retained power in Assam for a third consecutive term with a two-thirds majority in the recently concluded Assembly elections. The Bharatiya Janata Party won 82 seats, while its allies, the Asom Gana Parishad and the Bodoland People's Front, secured 10 seats each in the 126-member House.