- BJP won Nagaon bypoll by a margin of over 1.42 lakh votes against AIUDF leader Ajmal
- Congress lost Nagaon seat it won by over two lakh votes in 2024, says Assam CM Sarma
- Sarma called the result a setback for both Congress and AIUDF in Nagaon's minority electorate
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi after the BJP won the Nagaon Lok Sabha bypoll. He said the result showed a shift in voter support in a seat the Congress had won by more than two lakh votes in 2024.
"We have won Nagaon with more than one lakh votes. This is a seat that the Congress had won by over two lakh votes in 2024. Today, they have been rejected. Rahul Gandhi has been rejected," Sarma said.
BJP's Devasish Sharma defeated his nearest rival AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal by 1,42,224 votes in the bypoll, the Election Commission said.
Sharma, a former IAS officer, polled 7,14,349 votes, while Ajmal, the Binnakandi legislator, received 5,72,125 votes. Former Congress MLA Sibamoni Bora finished a distant third with 1,29,492 votes, according to data available on the poll body website.
Referring to Nagaon's sizeable religious minority electorate, Sarma said the result was a setback for both the Congress and the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), led by Badruddin Ajmal.
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"We have not only increased our vote share and reduced theirs, but we have also defeated Ajmal. This is a crushing defeat for Rahul Gandhi. We have reminded him that he is not beyond the nation," the chief minister said.
Sarma also criticised opposition parties for their allegations against the Election Commission. He accused them of questioning the electoral process whenever the BJP wins an election.
Taking up the opposition's objections to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, he alleged that its leaders were resisting efforts to remove ineligible names from voter lists.
"Whenever the BJP wins an election, they blame the Election Commission. They raise the issue of SIR. They want Bangladeshis to be part of the voters' list. We have thrown out hundreds of Bangladeshis," Sarma said.
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The chief minister also criticised the opposition's proposed protest in New Delhi. He accused its leaders of attempting to pressure the authorities through demonstrations.
"They want to get 10,000 people in Delhi and do dadagiri in New Delhi," he said.
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