Guwahati: The first session of the 16th Assam Legislative Assembly began on Thursday with senior MLA Chandra Mohan Patowary presiding over the proceedings as Protem Speaker.
During the opening day of the session, 124 newly elected MLAs took oath. Following the oath-taking ceremony, senior BJP leader and former minister Ranjeet Kumar Dass was elected unopposed as the full-time Speaker of the Assam Legislative Assembly.
With this, Ranjeet Kumar Dass created history by becoming the first legislator in the history of the Assam Assembly to be elected Speaker for a second term. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma described the development as a historic moment for the Assembly and said Dass had set a new record by occupying the prestigious constitutional post twice.
After the announcement, Protem Speaker Chandra Mohan Patowary formally handed over the responsibility of conducting the proceedings of the House to the newly elected Speaker. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, AGP president and minister Atul Bora, Congress MLA Rakibul Hussain and several senior leaders from both treasury and opposition benches escorted Ranjeet Kumar Dass to the Speaker’s chair, reflecting a cordial atmosphere inside the House.
Patowary informed the House that three valid nomination papers were received in support of Ranjeet Kumar Dass under Rule 7(4) of the Assam Legislative Assembly Rules of Procedure. BJP MLA Manab Deka proposed the nomination, supported by Rishiraj Hazarika. From AGP, the proposal was moved by Tapan Das and supported by Dharmeswar Roy, while BPF leaders Charan Boro and Maneswar Brahma also backed the nomination.
Ranjeet Kumar Dass had earlier served as Speaker of the Assam Legislative Assembly from June 2, 2016 to December 25, 2020 during the tenure of the government led by Sarbananda Sonowal.
Born on December 1, 1965 in Barpeta district, Dass completed his schooling from St. Joseph High School, Barpeta Road. He pursued higher studies at Arya Vidyapeeth College and Madhab Choudhury College before completing his postgraduation in Botany from Gauhati University in 1990. He also earned a postgraduate diploma in Journalism in 1991.
Before entering active politics, Dass worked as a journalist with newspapers including The Assam Tribune, The North East Times, Dainik Asam and Aji Asom. He also served as editor of the weekly newspaper Sampratik. Later, he joined the Indian Information Service (IIS) in 1994 after clearing the UPSC examination and served in New Delhi, Dhubri and Barpeta before taking voluntary retirement in 2005.
Dass joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1992 and gradually rose through the party ranks. He was elected MLA from Sarbhog constituency in 2011 and 2016, and later from Patacharkuchi constituency in 2021. He also served as Assam BJP president and as a cabinet minister in the state government.
Political observers believe that Dass’s previous experience as Speaker and his long administrative and political career are expected to help ensure smoother functioning of the Assembly during the new term.
