Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal takes oath as member of 18th Lok Sabha

Union Minister and BJP MP from Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal takes oath as a member of the 18th Lok Sabha in his mother tongue Assamese. On June 11, Sonowal took charge of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways in New Delhi. 

Sonowal, a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and former Chief Minister of Assam, is serving as Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new cabinet. This marks Sonowal's third term as a minister in the Narendra Modi-led government.

Sarbananda Sonowal's political career began as he joined the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) and served as its president from 1992 to 1999. He was also inducted as the chairman of the North East Students' Organisation (NESO) from 1996 to 2000.

His foray into mainstream politics began with his first Lok Sabha election in 2004, where he ran as a candidate for the Asom Gana Parishad and defeated former Union Minister Paban Singh Ghatowar in Dibrugarh. 

Later, Sonowal joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2011 and was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in 2014 from Lakhimpur.

He was appointed as Union Minister of State-Independent Charge, of the Government of India under the Modi Government at the center in 2014.

Sonowal became the chief minister of Assam when the BJP won in the North east for the first time in 2016 and served in the position till 2021.