Guwahati :  Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday took oath as a member of the 16th Assam Legislative Assembly on the opening day of the new Assembly session.

The oath was administered by Protem Speaker Chandra Mohan Patowary, with Sarma taking the oath in Assamese. As proceedings began, Patowary informed members that legislators could take oath in any recognised language of their choice and submit copies to the Assembly office.

MLAs from different political parties later took oath in Assamese, Bengali, Bodo and Sanskrit, reflecting the linguistic diversity of the Assembly. The swearing-in ceremony followed the NDA’s return to power in Assam with a decisive mandate in the recently concluded Assembly elections.

The alliance comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party, Asom Gana Parishad and Bodoland People’s Front secured 102 seats in the 126-member Assembly. The BJP emerged as the single largest party with 82 seats, while the AGP and BPF won 10 seats each.

In the opposition benches, the Indian National Congress secured 19 seats, while Raijor Dal won two seats. The All India United Democratic Front and All India Trinamool Congress won two and one seat respectively.