Nagaon Bye-Poll Enters Triangular Contest, IT Dept Sets Up 24x7 Control Room

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: The Nagaon Lok Sabha Constituency is set to witness a triangular fight involving the Congress, BJP and the AIUDF. AIUDF today named its president Badruddin Ajmal as the party's candidate for the Nagaon seat.

Already Sibamoni Bora of the Congress and Devashish Sharma of the BJP have started their campaign in the constituency. In the meantime, the Income Tax Department intensified its vigil in the Lok Sabha constituency ahead of the bye-election.

Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma said that wresting the Nagaon Lok Sabha seat is a complicated task for the BJP due to the constituency's demography. "If we win the Nagaon Loka Sabha seat this time, we will win all the 126 seats in the 2031 Assembly election," he said.

The Nagaon Lok Sabha Constituency has eight Assembly segments. Lahorighat, Samaguri, Rupahi and Dhing are minority-dominated segments. On the other hand, the Jagiroad, Morigaon, Raha and Nagaon-Bhatadrava segments have BJP's dominance. After the delimitation, the population pattern in the Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency consists of 60 per cent minorities and 40 per cent non-minorities.

With the entry of sitting MLA Badruddin Ajmal as a candidate, the scenario will have a drastic overhaul. The possible share of votes in minority-dominated segments between the Congress and the AIUDF may benefit the BJP.  The BJP candidate, Devashish Sharma, has already started his campaign in minority-dominated areas. Since he served as the Deputy Commissioner of Nagaon and Morigaon districts, he has had a more profound understanding of the concerns of minority communities.

Meanwhile, the Income Department has started its vigil to curb the use of black money and illicit funds in the bye-poll. It has set up a 24x7 control room-cum-complaint cell. The department appealed to the public to provide information regarding suspected electoral malpractices involving unaccounted money or valuables. The department provided its mobile numbers-9435536624, 9282794849, and 0361-2340396-for the public to use when reporting information.

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