Badruddin Ajmal. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) named party president Mohammed Badruddin Ajmal as its candidate for the October 6 byelection to the Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency in central Assam on Tuesday (September 15, 2026).
His nomination has increased the possibility of a three-way contest in Nagaon, where Muslim voters are in the majority.
Mr. Ajmal, an MLA from central Assam’s Binnakandi constituency and former three-time MP from Dhubri in western Assam, will face former bureaucrat Devasish Sharma of the BJP and former MLA Sibamoni Bora of Congress as his prime rivals. The Trinamool Congress has fielded Abdul Salam.
Reacting to Mr. Ajmal’s nomination, Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi indicated that he did so at the BJP’s bidding. “The AIUDF had another candidate in mind, but it did a rethink after Congress announced its candidate,” he told journalists in Guwahati.
“The BJP understood that Congress has fielded a strong candidate. They panicked and called upon their trusted political ally. Maulana Ajmalji has taken this step to help (Chief Minister) Himanta Biswa Sarma,” Mr. Gogoi said, suggesting that the AIUDF chief’s candidature was designed to help the BJP.
The Assam unit of the BJP trashed the Congress theory of a deal with the AIUDF. “In a democracy, every political party or individual has the right to contest from any seat,” a party spokesperson said.
Nagaon crucial for BJP
Earlier, the Chief Minister said the Nagaon by-poll was crucial for the BJP, as a victory could pave the way for the party and its allies to sweep all 126 Assembly seats in the 2031 Assembly elections. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance won 102 seats in the April 9 Assembly elections.
“There is a significant shift in voter sentiment toward the BJP in Assam. Nagaon has been a Congress stronghold, but we are confident of a good show, as people are inclining towards the BJP,” he said.
The by-election to the Nagaon parliamentary seat became necessary after Pradyut Bordoloi, who won a second successive term in 2024, quit the Congress to join the BJP and contest the State polls five months ago. He was elected from the Dispur Assembly constituency.
Mr. Bordoloi had broken the BJP’s unbroken run of victories in Nagaon since the 1999 Lok Sabha polls. Vote counting for the October 6 by-election is scheduled for October 9. The last date for filing nomination papers is September 16, and candidates can withdraw their nominations until September 19.
Published – September 15, 2026 09:50 pm IST
