Guwahati: The Congress party lost a major power base in Dhing this week. Twenty-one panchayat representatives and over 100 party workers ditched the Congress to join the BJP. This mass defection hit hard just before the Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election. The jump happened during a massive rally in Dhupguri, a minority-heavy area within the Dhing development block.
Organizers claimed more than 10,000 people attended the event. Minister Pijush Hazarika drew attention by speaking to minority attendees in the Miya dialect. He sought their support directly, marking a shift from the firm stances often taken by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Hazarika stated, "I am here to ask for your support."
Local leadership stood united on stage to welcome the new recruits. Attendees included Nagaon MLA Rupak Sarma, Shibu Mishra, former Nagaon MP Pradyut Bordoloi, and prospective BJP candidate Debashish Sharma. The BJP is now pushing hard to lock down the constituency. They want to grab minority votes while picking apart the Congress organization one member at a time.
Updated at 10th September 2026 at 1:49am
Opposition leader Wazed Ali Choudhury claims the BJP’s pivot to minority voters reveals deep uncertainty within their ranks. He pointed to the 2024 Lok Sabha results where the BJP trailed by 2.5 lakh votes, arguing that the constituency’s demographic makeup remains a wall the ruling party cannot easily climb. Choudhury dismissed the outreach as a desperate attempt to bridge a gap they traditionally ignore.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently admitted the party faces an uphill climb, noting that Nagaon is not a traditional stronghold. He stated on September 7 that his team is focused on grinding out better performance across the seven assembly segments rather than banking on a win. The by-election, triggered after the seat fell vacant, is set for October 6.
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