The upcoming Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election in Assam is shaping up to be a closely watched four-cornered contest, with the BJP, Congress, AIUDF and Trinamool Congress (TMC) all fielding candidates ahead of the October 6 poll.
The latest development came on Tuesday when the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) announced party president and Binnakandi MLA Badruddin Ajmal as its candidate for the bypoll. The AIUDF had earlier indicated that Rezaul Karim Sarkar could be its choice for the seat, but the party ultimately fielded Ajmal. Ajmal’s entry into the race comes just a day before the deadline for filing nomination papers and adds a significant dimension to the electoral battle.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has nominated former IAS officer Debasish Sharma, who recently took voluntary retirement from government service before joining the party. The Congress has fielded former MLA Sibamoni Bora, while the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has named educationist Abdul Salam as its candidate.
Polling for the by-election will be held on October 6, with counting scheduled for October 9.
The bypoll has already sparked sharp political exchanges between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress. Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi expressed confidence that his party would win the election and claimed that both the BJP and AIUDF were unsettled by the Congress’s choice of candidate.
According to Gogoi, the AIUDF reconsidered its original electoral strategy after the Congress announced Sibamoni Bora’s candidature. He also alleged that the BJP had become anxious over Congress’s prospects and suggested that Ajmal’s candidature would ultimately benefit the ruling party.
“We are very confident of putting up a strong campaign and securing victory in the Nagaon by-election,” Gogoi said while addressing reporters in Guwahati.
On the other hand, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma described the Nagaon bypoll as an important political test for the BJP. He asserted that a victory in the constituency would indicate growing public support for the party ahead of the next Assembly elections.
Sarma said that voter sentiment had increasingly moved in favour of the BJP over the past month, although he acknowledged that Nagaon has traditionally been regarded as a Congress stronghold rather than a BJP bastion.
Meanwhile, announcing TMC’s candidate, Assam Trinamool Congress convenor Sherman Ali Ahmed said the party was contesting the election to fight for the rights and interests of common people and not for personal gain.
With heavyweight candidates from all four parties now in the fray, the Nagaon Lok Sabha bypoll is expected to emerge as a crucial indicator of the state’s political mood and could have significant implications for future electoral contests in Assam.
Four-Cornered Contest Takes Shape in Nagaon Lok Sabha Bypoll
