{
  "id": 11374280,
  "title": "Nagaon Lok Sabha byelection: Dried fish follows biryani in campaign",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/nagaon-lok-sabha-byelection-dried-fish-follows-biryani-in-campaign",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-02T06:27:31.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Hindu",
    "slug": "the-hindu",
    "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/assam/nagaon-lok-sabha-byelection-dried-fish-follows-biryani-in-campaign/article71535914.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Nagaon Lok Sabha byelection campaign has seen a focus on food habits, following biryani and biscuits. The constituency, which is Muslim-dominated, held its by-election on October 6. Pradyut Bordoloi, who won the seat for the second successive term in 2024, left the Congress party and contested as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate in April 2026. Mohammed Badruddin Ajmal, the chief of All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), referred to Congress MP Rakibul Hussain as a \"madman\" and said he was \"born eating dried fish, not biryani\". The latter, a Nagaon native and a Congress key campaigner, countered by saying God made him wealthy enough to eat biryani, while referring to the Chief Minister's alleged weakness for biscuits. The Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, compared Hussain to Bakasura, a mythological crane-demon with an insatiable appetite, and said Hussain consumes pulao and meat three times before 9 a.m. The Nagaon constituency has seen Congress and BJP victories, with the BJP fielding former bureaucrat Devasish Sharma as its prime rival, alongside Congress candidate Sibamoni Bora and AIUDF candidate Ajmal.",
  "summary": "The primary target for both the BJP and the AIUDF has been Congress MP Rakibul Hussain, who hails from Nagaon district",
  "key_points": [
    "Nagaon by-election focuses on food habits, including dried fish",
    "Congress candidate Rakibul Hussain called opponent madman",
    "Chief Minister compared Hussain to Bakasura, a demon"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The focus on food habits in the Nagaon Lok Sabha byelection campaign reveals the candidates' efforts to connect with the Muslim-dominated constituency and sway voters through cultural and culinary references.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Hindu",
        "title": "Assam bypoll: Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency profile, candidates, key facts",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/assam-bypoll-nagaon-lok-sabha-constituency-profile-candidates-key",
        "published": "2026-10-02T03:55:34.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}