Assam bypolls: BJP-led alliance set to win all five seats

Guwahati, Nov 23 (IANS) The ruling BJP-led NDA alliance is set to sweep all the five Assembly constituencies in Assam where counting of votes was taking place on Saturday.

The BJP has already won two constituencies -- Dholai and Behali while the party candidate Diplu Ranjan Sarmah is leading in the Samaguri seat against Congress heavyweight Rakibul Hussain’s son Tanzil Hussain.

According to the latest trends, Sarmah was leading by 8,091 votes, and the ruling party is on its way to breach the Congress bastion.

BJP’s ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) won the Bongaigaon Assembly seat. AGP's Diptimayee Choudhury won the seat by defeating Congress candidate Brajenjit Singha with a margin of 35,164 votes.

Another ally of the ruling party, United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) registered its win in the Sidli Assembly seat after defeating Congress. UPPL's Nirmal Kumar Brahma won with a margin of 37,016 votes by defeating Bodoland Peoples Front candidate Suddho Kumar Basumatary.

The five seats went vacant after five legislators, including a cabinet minister, were elected to Parliament in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

This included two MLAs from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), including a cabinet minister, along with one each from alliance partners Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and United Peoples Party Liberal (UPPL), as well as one from the opposition Congress.

BJP’s former Cabinet Minister Parimal Suklabaidya successfully contested in the Silchar Lok Sabha seat and his earlier Assembly seat Dholai was vacant. Meanwhile, another senior BJP leader Ranjit Dutta was elected to the Lok Sabha this time. He was representing the Behali seat in the Assembly.

The AGP opened its account in Parliament this time with its senior leader Phani Bhusan Choudhury being elected from the Barpeta Lok Sabha seat. The party contested in two parliamentary constituencies in the state, however, it lost polls in Dhubri to Congress candidate Rakibul Hussain.

Choudhury was a six-time MLA from the Bongaigaon Assembly segment. When AGP fielded him in the Barpeta Lok Sabha seat to fight parliamentary elections, supporters of Choudhury opposed the party’s decision and urged Choudhury to remain the MLA of Bongaigaon.

Congress leader Rakibul Hussain defeated the three-time AIUDF MP and party chief Badruddin Ajmal in the Dhubri Lok Sabha seat with a margin of more than 10 lakh votes reinforcing his status as a five-time legislator from the Samuguri assembly seat.

Meanwhile, UPPL's Joyanta Basumatary, the former MLA from Sidli, also made headlines by securing the Kokrajhar seat.

The BJP contested byelections in three Assembly seats -- Dholai, Samaguri and Behali.

The two allies of the ruling party -- Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) contested bypoll in the Bongaigaon Assembly constituency while United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) fielded its candidate in the Sidli seat.

On the other hand, the Congress party fought byelections in all five Assembly seats. The polling was held on November 13.