Guwahati: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Devasish Sharma is leading in the first round of counting for the Nagaon Lok Sabha bypoll in Assam, securing 47,402 votes, while All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) chief Mohammed Badruddin Ajmal is trailing with 21,107 votes.
Congress candidate Sibamoni Bora has secured 6,544 votes, according to the initial counting figures.
Counting began at 8 am on Friday amid tight security at Dawson Higher Secondary School and Government Boys’ School in Nagaon district.
Polling for the bypoll was held on October 6 and concluded peacefully, with voter turnout at around 76% by 5 pm. A total of 15 candidates are contesting the election.
The bypoll was necessitated by the resignation of Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi, who won the Nagaon seat in 2019 and retained it in 2024. He resigned in March and subsequently contested the Dispur Assembly seat on a BJP ticket, winning in the April 2026 Assam Assembly election.
The contest is primarily triangular, with Sharma, a former IAS officer, representing the BJP; Bora, a former MLA, contesting for Congress; and AIUDF chief Ajmal entering the race after the party initially planned to field Rejaul Karim Sarkar.
The division of minority votes between Congress and the AIUDF is among the key factors being watched in the contest. The result is also expected to indicate how Bordoloi’s move from Congress to the BJP has influenced voter sentiment in Nagaon.