Guwahati: “Tell your mother, I will be the chief minister one day,” Assam’s new Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had told a young Riniki Bhuyan. Later on Riniki Bhuyan became the wife of Sarma. When Sarma had made the comment he was a student of Cotton College here.
Sarma was completely focused even in his student days, and very sure of what he wanted to do in the future. This is what Bhuyan told reporters after the swearing-in of her spouse as the 15th chief minister of the northeastern state.
“He was 22 and I was 17 when we first met. I had asked him what I would tell my mother about his future. He had replied – tell her that I will become the chief minister of Assam,” Bhuyan said.
The young girl was stunned but later realised that the man she would marry had definite goals. He also had dreams for Assam, and rock-solid determination.
“We got married when he was an MLA. Then he became a minister and it has been politics all the way but when I was watching him take the oath as chief minister today, I could not believe it,” Bhuyan said
“Even last (Sunday) night during our conversation he mentioned ‘Chief Minister designate’ and when I asked him ‘kun’(who), he replied ‘moi’(I am). It is always Himanta for me and I cannot relate to him as the chief minister. It will take time for me to come to terms with it,” the proud wife added with a smile.
Riniki Bhuyan Sarma was all praise for her 52-year-old husband in the manner he tackled the COVID-19 pandemic in the state. “Though it is far from over, he is trying to sincerely deal with the challenge,” she said. “He has a vision of an ideal Assam in his mind and works hard to achieve his goals even when there are several challenges along the way,” informed Bhuyan.
“We know that as a person in public life, he will face many challenges but I am confident he will resolve the issues as he is a person who thinks both with his heart and mind,” she added.
Sarma’s wife is a media entrepreneur. The couple has two children – 19-year-old Nandil Biswa Sarma and 17-year-old Sukanya Sarma.
Himanta did his graduation and post- graduation from Cotton College, LLB from Government Law College, and obtained Ph.D. Degree in Political Science from Gauhati University.