Assam's opposition party, the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), has named party chief and Binnakandi MLA Badruddin Ajmal as its candidate for the October 6 Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election. With Ajmal entering the fray, the contest has now turned into a three-way battle among the BJP, Congress and AIUDF.
Badruddin Ajmal returns to Lok Sabha contest
The three-time former MP has been given the party ticket following approval by the core committee, AIUDF general secretary (admin) Hafiz Bashir Ahmed said. "The AIUDF Core Committee has approved the candidature of M Badurddin Ajmal as party candidate to contest the ensuing by-election to the Lok Sabha from Nagaon Parliamentary Constituency of Assam," Ahmed said in a statement on Tuesday.
The perfume businessman, who represented the Dhubri Lok Sabha constituency for three consecutive terms from 2009, is currently the MLA from Binnakandi.
Ajmal entered electoral politics in the 2006 Assam Assembly election, a year after founding AIUDF. He won the South Salmara constituency in that election.
He returned to state politics in the 2026 Assam Assembly election, winning the newly created Binnakandi seat in Hojai district.
Nagaon Lok Sabha bypoll
The Nagaon Lok Sabha bypoll was necessitated after the resignation of Pradyut Bordoloi, who had won the seat on a Congress ticket. Bordoloi later joined the BJP ahead of the Assam Assembly election and won the Dispur constituency.
The BJP has fielded former IAS officer Debasish Sharma, who entered active politics after taking voluntary retirement from government service and joined the party on September 8. The Congress, meanwhile, has nominated former Batadroba MLA Sibamoni Bora.
With the three principal candidates now in the fray, the contest will be closely watched, particularly over vote consolidation and the division of the opposition vote.
The Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election is scheduled to be held on October 6, with counting set for October 9. The last date for filing nominations is September 16, while candidates can withdraw their nominations until September 19.
'Congress confident of victory'
Assam Congress chief Gaurav Gogoi expressed confidence in the party's victory in the upcoming Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election, saying that the party will put up a strong campaign. Speaking to the reporters, Gogoi said, "We are very confident of putting up a solid campaign, and we are confident of a victory in the forthcoming Nagaon by-election."
Meanwhile, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma asserted that the BJP will win all the 126 assembly seats in the state in the next Vidhan Sabha elections in 2031 if it secures victory in the October 6 Nagaon Lok Sabha bypoll.
Sarma said although Nagaon is not a traditional BJP seat, a 'visible change' in favour of the party has been witnessed in the last one month.
"Let us wait for the bypoll results. If the BJP manages to win this Lok Sabha seat, then the party will secure all 126 assembly constituencies in the 2031 polls," he said.
He said an atmosphere has been created where people are moving towards the BJP and the situation is turning positive for the party with each passing day. "Even before the elections were announced, many people joined the BJP even in constituencies where we do not have MLAs," he added.
(With PTI inputs)
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