{
  "id": 12171267,
  "title": "Test for Congress comeback in Nagaon Lok Sabha bypoll",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/05/test-for-congress-comeback-in-nagaon-lok-sabha-bypoll",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-05T14:52:28.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Hindu",
    "slug": "the-hindu",
    "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/assam/test-for-congress-comeback-in-nagaon-lok-sabha-bypoll/article71547324.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) anticipates victory in the upcoming by-election for the Muslim-majority Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency in central Assam, which could bolster the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)'s prospects of securing all 126 Assembly seats in the state in 2031. Nagaon holds a significant Muslim vote bank of over 55% after the 2023 post-delimitation, a factor that the Congress party has traditionally relied upon. However, the bypoll might pose a greater challenge for the Congress due to a perceived division among opposition votes. The Congress aims to retain Nagaon, having lost its two-time winner, Pradyut Bordoloi, to the BJP prior to the April 2026 Assembly election. Bordoloi's resignation prompted the bypoll. The Congress is banking on Sibamoni Bora to fend off Devasish Sharma, the BJP candidate and former Nagaon District Commissioner and Election Officer. Bora's main opponent could be Mohammed Badruddin Ajmal, an MLA and chief of the minority-based All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF). Ajmal's party has significant support among Muslim voters, particularly Bengali-speaking or Bengal-origin migrants, though the AIUDF's influence in minority-dominated regions is reportedly waning. The AIUDF had initially named Rejaul Karim Sarkar as their candidate, but switching Ajmal in has disrupted the Congress's electoral projections. The bypoll will take place on October 6 and the results will be announced on October 9. There are fifteen candidates competing in the by-election, but the main contest is anticipated to be between Bora, Sharma, and Ajmal.",
  "summary": "The grand old party regained the key constituency from the BJP in 2019, but its two-time winner quit and became a BJP legislator in 2026",
  "key_points": [
    "BJP expects win in Nagaon bypoll, boosting NDA's Assembly seat prospects.",
    "Congress struggles with opposition vote division, aiming to retain Nagaon.",
    "AIUDF's Mohammed Badruddin Ajmal could challenge Congress candidate Sibamoni Bora."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "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."
}