Assam: Nagaon LS bypoll records 76 pc turnout; BJP, Congress and AIUDF in key contest
Guwahati, Oct 6 (IANS) Polling for the Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election in Assam ended peacefully at 5 p.m. on Monday, with around 76 per cent of the constituency’s 19.05 lakh registered electors casting their votes, election officials said.
The final voter turnout is expected to increase as polling personnel allowed those who had entered polling stations before the scheduled closing time to cast their votes. Voting began at 7 a.m. across the Nagaon parliamentary constituency, which comprises eight Assembly segments.
The by-election was necessitated following the resignation of former Congress Lok Sabha member Pradyut Bordoloi, who later contested the Assam Assembly election from Dispur on a BJP ticket and won.
A total of 15 candidates are in the fray, with the main contest centred on BJP candidate Devashish Sharma, Congress nominee Sibamoni Bora and AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal.
The polling remained largely peaceful across the constituency, although opposition parties raised allegations of irregularities at some polling locations.
Congress leader and Dhubri Lok Sabha MP Rakibul Hussain alleged during the day that unidentified persons had entered several polling stations in the Samaguri Assembly segment. He also accused the BJP of attempting to influence the polling process.
The allegations, however, were not independently established. Election authorities maintained security arrangements across the constituency to ensure a smooth polling process.
Voters turned up in significant numbers despite the political contest attracting considerable attention because of the presence of prominent candidates from the BJP, Congress and AIUDF.
The Nagaon bypoll is being closely watched as the result could provide an indication of the political mood in one of Assam’s important parliamentary constituencies.
The counting of votes is scheduled to take place on October 9, when the electoral fate of all 15 candidates will be decided.
The by-election has also assumed significance ahead of the wider political developments in Assam, with the BJP, Congress and AIUDF seeking to consolidate their respective support bases in the state.
The Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election was necessitated after sitting Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi resigned from the Lok Sabha on March 20, 2026, after leaving the Congress and joining the BJP. Bordoloi subsequently contested and won the Dispur Assembly seat in the Assam Assembly elections, leaving Nagaon vacant and triggering the bypoll. The seat is particularly significant because it has been held by the Congress since 2019 and is now witnessing a three-way contest between BJP, Congress and AIUDF.
For Congress, Nagaon has been a stronghold in the last two Lok Sabha elections. In 2019, Pradyut Bordoloi defeated BJP’s Rupak Sharma by a very narrow margin, while in 2024, Bordoloi strengthened Congress’s position by defeating BJP’s Suresh Borah. The current bypoll therefore represents a major test of whether Congress can retain the seat despite Bordoloi’s defection and the entry of AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal.
–IANS
tdr/uk
