Three-way battle in Assam's Nagaon: Congress, BJP, and AIUDF eye Muslim-dominated constituency

Assam's Nagaon is seeing a three-pronged contest, with the Congress, the BJP and the All-India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) vying for the trust of voters in this Muslim-dominated constituency. Voting here is scheduled for April 26.

In the 2019 general election, the AIUDF had supported the Congress and helped it win this seat after a gap of almost 25 years. While Congress parliamentarian Pradyut Bordoloi is seeking re-election, the BJP has fielded former militant-turned-politician Suresh Bora for this seat.

Bora, who had left the militant outfit ULFA in 1999, was president of the Nagaon District Congress Committee before joining the BJP. Bora has contested Assembly polls thrice and lost on all occasions.


The AIUDF has fielded Aminul Islam. In the run up to the polls, AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal had declared that for the first-time, Bengali-speaking Muslims in the constituency will have their own candidate.

Muslims account for 34% of the 3.12 crore population of Assam, of which 4% are indigenous Assamese Muslims and the remaining are mostly Bengali-speaking Muslims.

After last year's delimitation exercise, Nagaon has eight Assembly segments. The BJP holds Jagiroad, Nagaon, and Marigaon, while Laharighat, Rupahihat, Samaguri, Raha and Batadrava are with the Congress, and Dhing is with AIUDF.

The current legislator from Raha was expelled from the Congress after he switched allegiance to the BJP.

The constituency has a total of 1,804,472 voters, of which 895,612 are females and 908,860 males.

The BJP, which is in power in the state, is banking on its development measures to wrest the seat from the Congress. The AIUDF claims that it was because of its support in the last election that Congress managed to wrest the seat.

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of the BJP, who is wooing the Muslim minority voters, said government schemes do not discriminate and people from minority communities are the main beneficiaries of the welfare measures.

Since 1999, the Nagaon seat has been represented by Rajen Gohain of the BJP.

Political analysts said there might be a split in Muslim minority votes as both the Congress and the AIUDF command support of the Muslims.

"BJP has changed its candidate. However, the candidate has a problem of image and is a completely new-comer to the BJP, but the party's organisational livery will come handy," said one analyst.