Assam bypoll: BJP’s Devasish Sharma vs Cong’ Sibamoni Bora sets up tussle between ex-bureaucrats

Guwahati: The Congress has fielded former Batadroba MLA Sibamoni Bora for the October 6 Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election, setting up a high-stakes contest against BJP nominee Devasish Sharma, a former IAS officer and former Nagaon Deputy Commissioner. The contest is shaping up as a direct political battle between two candidates with administrative backgrounds but sharply different electoral journeys.

Bora, a former Block Development Officer, entered electoral politics in the 2021 Assam Assembly elections and emerged as one of Congress' prominent winners.

Contesting from Batadroba, she defeated sitting BJP MLA and actor-turned-politician Angoorlata Deka by 32,820 votes, polling 84,278 votes and securing nearly 60 per cent of the votes. Her victory gave Congress a significant foothold in a constituency that had earlier been represented by the BJP.

Bora also carries a considerable political legacy. She is the daughter of former Batadroba MLA Kiran Bora and a daughter-in-law of Golap Borbora, Assam's first non-Congress Chief Minister.

While her family background provides an established political network, her 2021 victory demonstrated her ability to convert that legacy into an electoral mandate.

The constituency, however, has undergone major political and geographical transformations since then. The 2023 delimitation exercise abolished the Batadroba Assembly seat and incorporated the area into the Nagaon-Batadraba constituency.

Bora's return to electoral politics, therefore, comes in a substantially altered political landscape.

The BJP, meanwhile, has placed its bet on Devasish Sharma, a former IAS officer who served as Nagaon's Deputy Commissioner before taking voluntary retirement to enter politics.

His administrative tenure could give him familiarity among voters, local officials and political networks, while his candidature represents the BJP's continuing effort to leverage governance credentials in electoral contests.

The bypoll became necessary after Congress' Pradyut Bordoloi resigned from the Nagaon Lok Sabha seat and joined the BJP ahead of the 2026 Assam Assembly elections.

Bordoloi, who had also won Nagaon in 2019, subsequently contested and won the Dispur Assembly seat.

The result will therefore carry significance beyond the individual candidates.

For Congress, retaining a seat it won in 2019 and 2024 would provide a crucial political boost.

For the BJP, capturing Nagaon would underline the party's expanding electoral strength in Assam and convert Bordoloi's defection into a decisive parliamentary gain.

Voting will take place on October 6, with counting scheduled for October 9.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

IANS

[email protected]