Test for Congress comeback in Nagaon Lok Sabha bypoll
The Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election in Assam is being framed as a critical test for the Congress party's influence in a Muslim-majority constituency. The entry of AIUDF leader Badruddin Ajmal into the race has complicated the electoral math for the Congress, with the BJP hoping to capitalize on the split opposition vote.
Why it matters
This by-election serves as a bellwether for political alliances and voter sentiment in Assam ahead of the 2031 state assembly elections.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) believes that winning the by-election to the Muslim-majority Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency in central Assam would pave the way for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to bag all 126 Assembly seats in the State in 2031.
Nagaon votes on Tuesday (October 6, 2026). Post-delimitation in 2023, more than 55% of the constituency’s 19 lakh voters are Muslims, a “vote bank” the Congress has allegedly relied on for decades.
The bypoll, however, could be more of a test for the Congress than the BJP because of a perceived split in the Opposition votes.
The Congress seeks to retain Nagaon after losing two-time winner Pradyut Bordoloi to the BJP ahead of the April 2026 Assembly election. The resignation of Mr. Bordoloi, who had ended the BJP’s four-election winning run from 1999 to 2014, necessitated the bypoll.
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