Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Guwahati: The National Democratic Alliance is making a final, aggressive push for the Nagaon Lok Sabha seat. Campaigning wraps up on October 5. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma led the charge, headlining 15 public meetings across eight Assembly segments to back NDA candidate Debashis Sharma.
Big guns hit the ground. Senior leaders held more than 1,100 meetings across Nagaon and Morigaon districts. Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, state BJP president Dilip Saikia, and AGP chief Atul Bora joined the effort. State ministers Pijush Hazarika, Jayanta Malla Baruah, Keshab Mahanta, Rameswar Teli, Sushanta Borgohain, and Ajanta Neog also mobilized for the candidate, alongside Assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary.
The ground game reached deep into every corner. BJP media panellist Dilip Kumar Sarma reported that 25 Mandal Committees pushed door-to-door outreach. Party officials executed over 5,000 courtyard meetings. Various party morchas added another 9,500 meetings to the tally. The Mahila, Yuva, Minority, Kisan, OBC, SC, and ST wings held hundreds of targeted sessions to secure the vote.
The finale begins today. At 11 am, party workers and local voters will launch simultaneous padyatras at all 2,309 polling stations. Supporters will walk the streets to seal the deal. The alliance is betting on this massive footprint to carry their candidate to victory.
Updated at 4th October 2026 at 9:50pm
The campaign math revealed deep bench strength among party wings. The Mahila Morcha held 1,654 meetings, while the Nagaon Yuva Morcha clocked 690. The Morigaon Yuva Morcha held 621, the Nagaon Minority Morcha managed 397, and the Morigaon Mahila Morcha completed 350.
On the final day, the scale of the show grew. BJP president Dilip Saikia marched in Raha with ministers Jayanta Malla Baruah and Sasikanta Das. Candidate Debashish Sharma hit the streets in Mairabari, while organisational secretary Rabindra Raju worked Nagaon town. Local MLAs Pradyut Bordoloi, Diplu Ranjan Sarma, Ramakanta Deuri, and Pallab Lochan Das anchored rallies in their home turfs. MLA Rupak Sarma pivoted to a bike rally to grab the youth vote, and Pijush Hazarika made final pitches in Lahorighat and Jagiroad.
Updated at 5th October 2026 at 5:48pm
Logistics are locked for the October 6 vote. On Monday, administration teams fanned out from three distribution hubs in Nagaon and Morigaon, moving 11,535 polling and security staff into position. Workers pulled from the Nagaon Government Higher Secondary Boys School, Dawson Higher Secondary Multi-Purpose School, and Morigaon College to cover 2,307 stations. The state assigned 584 vehicles to move the teams, while local authorities tagged 624 of these locations as sensitive, backing them with 54 micro-observers in the Nagaon district.
Voters face a crowded field. While 25 hopefuls originally surfaced, only 15 remain on the ballot after rejections and withdrawals. The contest boils down to a three-way fight between the NDA’s Debashish Sharma, AIUDF boss Badruddin Ajmal, and Congress candidate Sibamani Bora. According to electoral data, the constituency holds 19,02,009 registered voters, with minority Muslims making up about 60 percent of the electorate. Returning Officer Aranyak Saikia signaled the final countdown, calling for a free and fair turnout as the teams set up shop for tomorrow's polling.
Updated at 5th October 2026 at 9:50pm
New voter data confirms the electorate includes 9,58,595 men, 9,43,364 women, and 50 third-gender voters, with 10,782 registered as D-voters. Religious demographics show minority Muslims make up 60.35 percent of the constituency, while Hindus account for 39.65 percent.
Operational security will be tight. Officials deployed 69 Flying Squad Teams and 69 Static Surveillance Teams to enforce the Model Code of Conduct. The administration designated 335 stations to be managed entirely by women personnel, set up five model polling stations, and arranged for webcasting at every site to keep eyes on the process. Authorities also finished postal ballot voting for the elderly and disabled.
Polling kicks off at 7 am and runs until 5 pm. The seat hit the ballot after former Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi resigned, swapped parties to the BJP, and transitioned to the Assam Assembly.
Updated at 6th October 2026 at 9:46am
Polling stations opened across the constituency at 7 am on Tuesday, October 6. BJP candidate Debashish Sharma, a former Nagaon district commissioner who retired from service to enter politics, cast his ballot at the Mayong Higher Secondary School. Visibly moved after voting, Sharma called on the public to turn out in strength to strengthen democracy while wishing his opponents well.
The day saw early hiccups in the voting process. Officials reported a complete stoppage at Polling Station No. 58, Singari M.E.M., where an Electronic Voting Machine malfunctioned before voting could begin. While the administration maintained that 86 micro-observers were deployed to track the process, this mechanical failure marked an immediate challenge for poll workers on the ground.
The race remains a three-way battle. AIUDF chief and sitting Binnakandi MLA Badruddin Ajmal is vying for a return to the Lok Sabha, facing off against Congress candidate Sibamoni Bora, a former legislator from the redrawn Batadroba seat. The administration confirmed that 2,112 polling stations, including the five auxiliary booths, are currently accepting ballots until the 5 pm deadline.
Updated at 6th October 2026 at 1:49pm
Voter turnout reached 17.68 percent by 9 am. Beyond the initial hiccup at Singari, trouble rippled through the constituency. A second machine failure hit polling station No. 94 at Gerjaipam Adarsha ME School in Kachuwa, Raha, forcing voters to wait for nearly three hours despite multiple replacements. Another glitch stalled voting at station No. 72 in East Sidhabari, Morigaon, after just five ballots were cast.
Candidates are hitting the booths. Congress hopeful Sibamoni Bora cast her vote at Jajori Majgaon, claiming she expects crossover support from both minority and majority blocs. Local legislators also turned out early: Morigaon MLA Ramakanta Deuri voted at Deobaguri Primary School, and Rupohihat MLA Nurul Huda checked in at Roumari Maktab School.
Updated at 6th October 2026 at 6:04pm
Voter enthusiasm surged as the day progressed, hitting a 70.25 percent turnout by 3 pm. Laharighat led the charge with a 74.74 percent participation rate, while the Nagaon-Batadraba segment trailed at 61.92 percent. Other segments showed strong engagement, with Samaguri at 73.46 percent and Jagiroad at 72.38 percent.
Technical gremlins persisted. AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal flagged a malfunctioning EVM at polling station No. 185 (2) in Bhatiakali, Samaguri, claiming the machine lagged for 10 minutes when voters pressed his party's button. Election officials swapped out the unit to keep the line moving.
Tensions flared in Juria when Rupohihat MLA Nurul Huda arrived at the Boguriguri Higher Secondary School. A heated standoff erupted between opposing groups over alleged vote-switching, forcing local authorities to contain a volatile crowd. Despite the friction, election officials maintained the overall polling process remained peaceful across the eight assembly segments.
As voting concludes, the focus shifts to the October 9 tally. The bypoll remains a high-stakes test for the BJP, Congress, and AIUDF to gauge their influence in the region.
Updated at 6th October 2026 at 9:50pm
Voting drew to a close at 5 pm on October 6 with an estimated 76 percent turnout across the 19.05 lakh-strong electorate. While officials maintained the process remained largely peaceful, the day saw pointed accusations from the opposition. Dhubri MP Rakibul Hussain held a press conference to allege that unidentified individuals moved through the Samaguri segment in 11 vehicles, claiming they infiltrated polling booths to rig the vote under the watch of local BJP leadership. Congress candidate Sibamoni Bora also leveled direct claims, stating, Everyone is aware that the BJP and the AIUDF are the same entity.
Despite the static, election officials confirmed the process stayed functional, allowing voters who reached stations before the deadline to finish their ballots. Results now hinge on the final count scheduled for October 9.
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