A CORRESPONDENT
HOJAI: A wave of celebration has swept through Hojai district as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) retained both the Hojai and Lumding legislative assembly seats with comfortable margins, while in the adjoining Binnakandi constituency, the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) reasserted its hold through a record breaking victory for its supremo Badruddin Ajmal.
In the 63 Hojai assembly seat, BJP's Shiladitya Dev stormed back to power with 1,44,361 votes, defeating his Congress rival Jhilli Chowdhury, who secured 77,660 votes-a margin of over 66,000 votes. The result triggered a spontaneous excitement among the workers of the saffron party, who burst firecrackers, smeared saffron colour, shared sweets, and held victory rallies from the district headquarters at Srimanta Sankardeva Nagar to different areas within Hojai.
Beyond Hojai, the trend in the district has clearly favoured the BJP. In the 64 Lumding constituency, incumbent BJP MLA Sibu Misra has completed a hat trick by winning the third consecutive term, securing 1,15,330 votes against Congress' Swapan Kar's 94,736 votes. The result has kept the BJP's stronghold intact in this strategically important hill and railway junction belt, sparking jubilation among the party cadre and allies in the region.
In contrast, the 62 Binnakandi seat once again reaffirmed AIUDF's dominance in its traditional stronghold. Maulana Badruddin Ajmal bagged 1,17,549 votes, way ahead of his nearest rival, AJP Rejaul Karim Chowdhury, who polled 82,793 votes. Ajmal's record setting tally has energized his party's base, which is hopeful that the win will help resurrect AIUDF's influence across central Assam despite the challenges it has faced in recent years.
Also Read: AIUDF Chief Badruddin Ajmal Declares Rs 169 Crore in Assets for Binnakandi Poll Contest