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Who is Sarbananda Sonowal?
Sarbananda Sonowal is an Indian politician from Assam who served as its 14th Chief Minister from May 2016, elected from the Majuli constituency. He won the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Assam's Dibrugarh constituency with 693,762 votes or 54.27 per cent of vote share, his main opponent Assam Jatiya Parishad's Lurinjyoti Gogoi managed to bag 32.42 per cent of vote share. Sonowal has also been reappointed as the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways under the newly formed NDA govt after the 2024 LS polls.
Education Background
Education Background
He was a member of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) until 2011, after which he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Sonowal was elected to the 16th Lok Sabha from the Lakhimpur constituency and previously served as the BJP President in Assam. From 1992 to 1999, he was the president of the All Assam Students Union.
Political Background
Born in the Dibrugarh district, Sonowal pursued his education at Dibrugarh University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and later a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree. He was elected as an MLA from the Moran constituency of Assam and later, in 2004, was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Dibrugarh constituency. He resigned from all executive posts in the AGP due to discontent over the party's potential alliance with another party opposing the removal of the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act (IMDT Act).
The IMDT Act was designed to detect and expel illegal immigrants from Assam, differing from the Foreigners Act, which applies to the rest of India. Sonowal challenged the IMDT Act in the Supreme Court, which in 2005 declared it unconstitutional, ruling that Bangladeshi nationals who crossed the border illegally have no legal right to stay in India and must be deported.
Ahead of the Assam Assembly elections, Sonowal pledged that if the BJP was voted to power, it would ensure an error-free National Register of Citizens and the removal of all "illegal migrants" from the state, emphasizing the party's commitment to safeguarding the interests of the indigenous people of Assam.