Politics of Assam

The political structure of Assam in India is headed by the ceremonial post of the Governor. He is assisted by a council of ministers, headed by the Chief Minister, who are members of the Assam Assembly. In recent years the Governor has become more powerful, especially because the last two Governors have been ex-Army generals and the Army is entrusted with anti-insurgency operations against ULFA and other armed groups.

History

The Assam legislative structure is unicameral and consists of the 126-member Assam Assembly. Members are elected for a period of 5 years. The Assam Assembly is presided over by the Speaker, who is generally a member of the ruling party.

State Government

National Legislature

Assam sends 14 Member of Parliament(s) to the Lok Sabha.

Outline of political science

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to politics and political science:

Politics – the exercise of power; process by which groups of people make collective decisions. Politics is the art or science of running governmental or state affairs (including behavior within civil governments), institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the corporate, academic, and religious segments of society.

Political science – the field concerning the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior.

Branches of political science

Fields of study of political science

Assam

Assam (English pronunciation: /əˈsæm/  listen ; Assamese: অসম , Ôxôm [ɔ'xɔm]  listen ) is a state in Northeast India. Located south of the eastern Himalayas, Assam comprises the Brahmaputra Valley and the Barak Valley along with the Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao districts with an area of 30,285 square miles (78,440 km²). Assam, along with Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, and Meghalaya, is one of the Seven Sister States. Geographically Assam and these states are connected to the rest of India via a 22 kilometres (14 mi) strip of land in West Bengal called the Siliguri Corridor or "Chicken's Neck". Assam shares an international border with Bhutan and Bangladesh; and its culture, people and climate are similar to those of South-East Asia – comprising the elements in India’s Look East policy. Assam became a part of British India after the British East India Company occupied the region following the First Anglo-Burmese War of 1824–1826.

Assam is known for Assam tea and Assam silk. The first oil well in Asia was drilled here. The state has conserved the one-horned Indian rhinoceros from near extinction, along with the pygmy hog, tiger and various species of Asiatic birds. It provides one of the last wild habitats for the Asian elephant. The Assamese economy is aided by wildlife tourism, centred around Kaziranga National Park and Manas National Park which are World Heritage Sites. Sal tree forests are found in the state, which as a result of rainfall looks green all year round. Assam receive more rainfall compared to most part of India. This rain feeds the Brahmaputra River, whose tributaries and oxbow lakes provide the region with a hydro-geomorphic and aesthetic environment.

Himanta Biswa Sarma

Himanta Biswa Sarma (Assamese: হিমন্ত বিশ্ব শৰ্মা; born 1 February 1969 ) is an Indian politician who has served as MLA from the Jalukbari constituency in Assam from 2001 till 2015. A former member of the Indian National Congress, Dr Sarma joined Bharatiya Janata Party in August 2015.

Background

Himanta Biswa Sarma passed his High School Leaving Certificate examination from Kamrup Academy School, Guwahati in 1985 and joined Cotton College, Guwahati for further studies. He was General Secretary (GS) of Cotton College Union Society (CCUS) from 1991 to 1992. He did his graduation in 1990 and post graduation in 1992 in political science from the Cotton College, Guwahati. Sarma did LLB From Government Law College, Guwahati and obtained Ph.D degree from Gauhati University. He was practicing law at Gauhati High Court from 1996 to 2001. He is married to Riniki Bhuyan Sarma. The couple has two children Nandil & Sukanya.

Political Career

Sarma has served three terms as a MLA in Assam. He was elected from Jalukbari in 2001 and was re-elected in 2006 and 2011. Sarma has served in the Assam government in various ministerial portfolios. After a long time conflict with chief minister Tarun Gogoi, Dr Sarma resigned from all portfolios on 21 July 2014. He was the MLA of Jalukbari constituency until his resignation from Assembly on 15 September 2015. Sarma joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on 23 August 2015 at the residence of Amit Shah at New Delhi. He was appointed as the party's Convener of the Election Management Committee for the upcoming Assembly Elections in the state.

Narendra Modi

Narendra Damodardas Modi (Gujarati: [nəreːnd̪rə d̪ɑːmoːd̪ərəd̪ɑːs moːd̪iː], born 17 September 1950) is the 15th and current Prime Minister of India, in office since 26 May 2014. Modi, a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament (MP) from Varanasi. He led the BJP in the 2014 general election, which gave the party a majority in the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Indian parliament) – a first for any party since 1984 – and was credited for 2014 BJP electoral victories in the states of Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir.

Since taking office as Prime Minister, Modi's administration has focused on reforming and modernising India's infrastructure and government, reducing bureaucracy, encouraging increased foreign direct investment, improving national standards of health and sanitation and improving foreign relations. Modi has been appreciated for starting initiatives like Swachh Bharat Mission, Make in India and Digital India. Earlier, as Chief Minister of Gujarat, Modi's economic policies (credited with encouraging economic growth in Gujarat) have been praised, although his administration has also been criticised for failing to significantly improve the human development in the state and failing to prevent the 2002 Gujarat riots. A Hindu nationalist and a former member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Modi remains a controversial figure domestically and internationally, despite his progressivism. Known for his tech savvy image, he is the second most followed politician on social media after U.S. President Barack Obama.