Himanta Biswa Sarma (born 1 February 1969) is an Indian politician and lawyer serving as the 15th and the current Chief Minister of Assam since 2021. A former member of the Indian National Congress, Sarma joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on 23 August 2015 and soon was made convenor of NEDA. He is a six time Member of the Assam Legislative Assembly from Jalukbari, having been elected since 2001.

Early life and education Sarma was born on 1 February 1969 in Jorhat, Assam. The family, including six siblings, later shifted to Ulubari, Gandhibasti locality in Guwahati. He belongs to an Assamese family which traces its origins to Latima in Nalbari district. Sarma married Riniki Bhuyan Sarma in 2001, with whom he has a son, Nandil Biswa Sarma, who attended The Doon School, and a daughter, Sukanya Sarma, who attended Mayo College Girls School. (This paragraph was originally referenced to this source, a lot of the content was sourced to this)

Sarma was educated at Kamrup Academy School, Guwahati in 1985 and joined Cotton College, Guwahati (now known as Cotton University) for his undergraduate education. He was elected the General Secretary of Cotton College Students Union, three times in 1988-89, 1989–90, and 1991-1992. Sarma is the seventh chief minister of Assam from Cotton University.

He obtained a Bachelor of Arts in 1990 and Master of Arts in 1992, both in political science, from the university. Thereafter, Sarma obtained a Bachelor of Laws from Government Law College, Guwahati, and became a solicitor in 1995. He practised law at the Gauhati High Court from 1996 to 2001. In 2006, he completed a Doctorate of Philosophy in political science from Gauhati University on the topic North Eastern Council: A structural and functional analysis, defending his dissertation shortly before he was elected to public office.

Political career Indian National Congress

Sarma was elected to the Assam Legislative Assembly from Jalukbari for the first time in 2001 when he defeated Asom Gana Parishad leader Bhrigu Kumar Phukan. He was re-elected in 2006, then in 2011 for a third consecutive term with a 78,000 vote margin. Sarma held important portfolios (both state and cabinet) as Minister of State for Agriculture, Planning and Development, Finance, Health, Education, and Assam Accord Implementation from 2002 to 2014.

He was made Cabinet Minister for Health in 2006, and in 2011 he was also entrusted with the additional charge of Education. During his tenure, three medical colleges in Jorhat, Barpeta and Tezpur were built. He also initiated work for five more medical colleges in Diphu, Nagaon, Dhubri, North Lakhimpur and Kokrajhar, which are now in various startup stages.

Bharatiya Janata Party After political disagreements with the former chief minister Tarun Gogoi, Sarma resigned from all positions on 21 July 2014. He was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Jalukbari constituency until his resignation from the Assembly on 15 September 2015.Himanta resigns from MLA post. Telegraph India. 15 September 2015. Archived on 1 August 2018. Sarma joined Bharatiya Janata Party on 23 August 2015 at the residence of Amit Shah at New Delhi. He was appointed the party's Convener of the Election Management Committee for the upcoming Assembly Elections in the state. In May 2016, Sarma won the Jalukbari constituency for the fourth consecutive term and was sworn in as Cabinet Minister on 24 May in Sonowal ministry, in the first BJP Government in North East India. He was allotted portfolios like Finance, Health & Family Welfare, Education, Planning & Development, Tourism, Pension & Public Grievances.

Sports administrator On 23 April 2017, Sarma was unanimously elected as President of Badminton Association of India. Sarma has been the president of the Assam Badminton Association. He also became the president of the Assam Cricket Association in June 2016 when his party man Pradip Buragohain became the secretary. Sarma was also the longest-serving vice-president of the association, serving from 2002 to 2016.Himanta Biswa Sarma becomes ACA chief. Assam Tribune (13 June 2016). Retrieved on 31 August 2017. Archived on 1 August 2018.

On 25 March 2022, Sarma was re-elected as the president of Badminton Association of India for a second term of four years from 2022 to 2026 in general body meeting in Guwahati.

Chief Minister of Assam

Appointment On 8 May 2021, Sarma along with Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal were summoned to New Delhi, for discussions on the formation of a new government. Sarma and Sonowal held a series of meetings lasting more than 4 hours with BJP President J. P. Nadda and Home Minister Amit Shah. On 9 May Sonowal tendered his resignation to Governor Jagdish Mukhi, ahead of a meeting the same day to decide the next Chief Minister. Sarma's name was proposed by the outgoing Sonowal, BJP state president Ranjeet Kumar Dass and newly elected MLA Nandita Garlosa. As no other name was presented to be chief minister, Sarma was unanimously elected as the BJP legislature leader.

On 10 May 2021, Sarma was sworn in as the 15th Chief Minister of Assam by Governor Mukhi, succeeding Sonowal. He was congratulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his appointment. The BJP government was reelected with a majority in the 2026 Assam Legislative Assembly election, with Sarma returning as Chief Minister.

Tenure Sarma's tenure has been focused on exacerbating ethnic divisions in the state of Assam between Assamese and minority ethnic populations. In June 2021 he publicly urged the muslim community to adopt family planning measures, such that they reduce their rate of birth. He also advocated for a new law against illegal cattle smuggling in Assam. Mission Basundhara was launched under Sarma in 2021; a program aimed to support local landowners expand property rights. The Assam government, under his leadership, announced the conversion of 740 muslim schools, or madrasas, funded by the state to public schools. His government has demolished many Islamic madrasas in the state, alleging their association with terrorist groups and organisations. He continues to push for the removal of muslim cultural and educational institutions, as well as forced removal of these populations from their existing landholdings in Assam. In 2025, 40,000 individuals were evicted from their dwellings. Reasons cited by Sarma and other officials included encroachment on government land, environmental degradation and development projects.

Boundary dispute with Mizoram

On 26 July 2021, Assam Police and Mizoram Police (Mizoram is an adjacent state to Assam on its southern boundary) fired upon each other supposedly as part of the decades-old Assam-Mizoram border dispute. Assam lost six police personnel and a civilian in the firefight, while one youth from Mizoram suffered a gunshot wound. Both sides charged each other with opening fire first.

Reports from news media indicate that on 24 July 2021, Himanta Biswa Sarma and Zoramthanga had a one-to-one talk about the boundary dispute where both agreed to settle the matter amicably through talks. Before this could take place, and only two days after the two Chief Ministers held their talks, this incident took place.

Days after skirmish which left dozens of others injured, the Assam government on 29 July 2021 issued a travel advisory, asking people of the state not to travel to Mizoram - the first such travel advisory ever, by a state in the independent India. Himanta retracted from this advisory a day later. Further, Assam's Home and Political Department said on 29 July that the police should carry out an intensive drive against drugs and check all vehicles entering into Assam from Mizoram.

Forced evictions of muslim population Since 2021, Sarma has carried out the eviction of thousands of Bengali Muslims within Assam. In January 2026, referring to the minority Muslim population as Miyas, he claimed he will be evicting all of them, but not those of Assamese heritage. In March 2026, he promised to carry out larger eviction drives if he received a positive electoral result. He has frequently campaigned with marches that feature bulldozers.

Electoral performance +Assam Legislative AssemblyYearConstituencyPartyVotes%OpponentOpponent PartyOpponent Votes%MarginMargin in %Result2001JalukbariINC45,05446.76%Bhrigu Kumar PhukanNCP35,03536.36%10,01910.40% Won200676,94863.47%Puspa DekaAGP34,48028.44%42,46835.03% Won201193,81272.09%Prodyut BoraBJP16,40912.61%77,40359.48% Won2016BJP118,39076.16%Niren DekaINC32,45520.87%85,93555.29% Won2021130,76277.39%Ramen Chandra Borthakur28,85117.07%1,01,91160.325% Won2026127,15174.20%Bidisha Neog37,71722.07%89,43452.13% Won

Controversies Biswa has often been seen mired in controversies on two counts, one as regards his extremely hardline and inflammatory comments against the Muslim community and other as regards the allegations of corruption. He currently leads all efforts in Assam to evict Bengali-speaking muslims in the state, at the direction of the BJP, demolishing over 22,000 structures between 2021 and 2026. He has often made divergent claims publicly.

In 2011, Paresh Baruah led ULFA faction claimed that Sharma is a former member of the militant outfit. In April 2021, Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that there is no need to wear masks in the state as there is no more coronavirus present in Assam when India was undergoing the second wave of COVID-19. In June 2025, Sarma said that the terms socialism and secularism should be removed from the Constitution of India.

Anti-Muslim remarks

2020 In November 2020, Biswa posted on social media, claiming that supporters of AIUDF Chief and Dhubri MP, Badruddin Ajmal had shouted slogans in support of Pakistan to greet him, on his arrival at Silchar airport. Biswa's claim was reiterated by an Assamese news channel, News Live, which is owned by Biswa's wife, and then also confirmed by several news channels and newspapers, including Times Now, CNN News18, and The New Indian Express. Biswa's post was initially flagged by Facebook as misinformation but later this caution tag was removed and post was restored. Facebook's spokesperson told The Indian Express that the tag was erroneously put on Sarma’s post. Guwahati Police have since registered multiple First Information Reports, opened a case and arrested an AIUDF member named Nasir Uddin.

2021 Though Sarma was implicated in the Manabendra Sarma case he was acquitted by the court. A Delhi-based advocate from Assam has lodged a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) against the Assam Police "on an encounter spree" since Sarma stated in the police conference that police should shoot alleged criminals at legs which are permitted by the law. The Supreme Court in its judgement on the appeal filed against the Gauhati High Court judgement which refused to order for independent inquiry ordered for inquiry and investigation of all the police encounters by the Assam Human Rights Commission.

2022