Guwahati: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said the Nagaon Lok Sabha bypoll was a “crushing defeat for Rahul Gandhi and his politics”.Celebrating BJP’s victory at the party headquarters in Guwahati on Friday, Sarma said the result exposed the weakness of Rahul’s political strategy.“While AIUDF secured around 38–39% of the votes, Congress managed to secure only about 9%. This is a crushing defeat for Rahul Gandhi and his politics. He should stop engaging in political drama and refrain from pursuing politics that weakens our nation, our culture and our country,” Sarma said.He accused Rahul of aligning with forces opposed to India’s progress and said the people of Assam had sent a message through the election.“In our humble way, we have reminded Rahul Gandhi that India is above you. The nation is above you. You are not above the nation. That is the message of this election to Rahul Gandhi,” the CM said.Sarma said the seat, won by Congress in 2024 by over two lakh votes, was captured by BJP by more than one lakh votes in the bypoll. He said the result was significant because the constituency had more than six lakh religious minority voters.“The significance of the victory lay in the demographic composition of the constituency, which has a substantial religious minority population. Despite the presence of more than six lakh religious minority voters, the party thumped victory in the by-poll and improved its traditional vote base while securing a significant share of votes from minority communities,” he added.Sarma attributed the outcome to the development-oriented politics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said the BJP improved its vote share in four assembly segments and narrowed its defeat margin in four others compared with the last Assembly election.
