Nagaon bypoll: Assam Minister targets Congress MP Rakibul Hussain

Guwahati: Assam Minister Pijush Hazarika has intensified his attack on Congress MP Rakibul Hussain, alleging that the Dhubri representative is trying to make a political comeback in Nagaon after setbacks in his current constituency.

Speaking at a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) joining ceremony and public meeting in Juria Dagao on Thursday, Hazarika claimed that Hussain’s political influence in Dhubri had diminished and suggested that the Congress leader was seeking a return to Nagaon. “His balloon has burst in Dhubri,” Hazarika remarked while criticising the Congress MP.

The minister also made claims regarding the Congress’s candidate selection for the upcoming Nagaon bypoll. He alleged that Hussain had previously wanted the party to nominate Durlav Chamua from the constituency. Further, he claimed that Chamua had agreed to leave the seat for Hussain in a subsequent Lok Sabha election.

The Nagaon bypoll has set the BJP’s Debashish Sharma against Congress candidate and former Batadroba MLA Sibamoni Bora. Political activity in the constituency has intensified as both parties campaign for support.

Hazarika referred to the attendance at a recent BJP gathering, claiming that approximately 30,000 people from the minority community were present. He cited the turnout and said BJP candidate Debashish Sharma would emerge victorious in the bypoll.

Rakibul Hussain is the sitting Lok Sabha MP from Dhubri, while the Nagaon parliamentary seat became vacant after Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi was elected from another constituency.

The minister’s statements have added to the political exchanges surrounding the Nagaon contest. His assertions about Hussain’s alleged electoral plans and the reported ticket understanding remain campaign claims and have not been independently established.

Meanwhile, the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) on Tuesday named party chief and Binnakandi MLA Badruddin Ajmal as its candidate for the October 6 Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election, turning the contest into a three-cornered battle involving the BJP, Congress, and AIUDF.

Ajmal’s candidature was announced just a day before the September 16 deadline for filing nominations, ending speculation over the party’s choice for the high-profile bypoll. The AIUDF had earlier indicated that Rezaul Karim Sarkar could be its nominee, but eventually opted to put its supremo directly into the electoral contest.

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