Guwahati: BJP has regained the Nagaon Lok Sabha seat after 12 years, securing about 50% of the vote. AIUDF finished second, followed by Congress.The constituency has witnessed a significant political shift over the past two decades. Former senior BJP leader Rajen Gohain represented Nagaon for four consecutive terms from 1999 to 2014, establishing the party’s presence in the seat. Congress wrested it from BJP in 2019, when Pradyut Bordoloi defeated BJP candidate Rupak Sarmah.Bordoloi retained the seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. However, after leaving Congress and joining BJP earlier this year, he contested the Assam assembly elections from Dispur. His resignation as a Lok Sabha member triggered the bypoll.Former IAS officer Devasish Sharma, who took voluntary retirement from the administrative service and joined BJP last month, contested against AIUDF chief and Binnakandi MLA Badruddin Ajmal and former Congress MLA Sibamoni Bora.Sharma, who was the Nagaon district commissioner when he took voluntary retirement, led Ajmal by more than 1.5 lakh votes, while Bora trailed by more than 1.22 lakh votes. Sharma received more than 7 lakh votes, compared with 5.54 lakh for Ajmal and 1.27 lakh for Bora.Ajmal represented the Dhubri Lok Sabha constituency for three consecutive terms from 2009 to 2019.CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “Under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, BJP has secured a decisive victory in the Nagaon Lok Sabha bypoll, a seat previously held by Congress. Our candidate Devasish Sharma has emerged victorious in a seat not traditionally considered our stronghold, with the Congress pushed to third place.”He thanked the people of Nagaon and said the BJP govt’s development work would be carried forward.The constituency has over 19 lakh voters; the BJP candidate received about 50% of the votes, while Congress remained at nearly 9% and AIUDF at over 38%.BJP’s state president Dilip Saikia said, “Certainly, the Nagaon LS bypoll result reflects that the BJP has been able to receive a wider support only because of the politics of development. The voters have given a historic and matured mandate keeping in view the all-round development under the guidance of PM Narendra Modi and bold leadership of CM Himanta Biswa Sarma.”Saikia described the result as historic, saying the party had expanded its support in a seat where it had secured 37% of the vote in 2024.
