The Election Commission of India has officially announced that by-elections for five Assembly seats in Assam will be conducted on November 13, with the results slated for November 23. The constituencies involved in this electoral process are Dholai, Sidli, Bongaigaon, Behali, and Samuguri.
These five Assembly seats became vacant earlier this year following the Lok Sabha elections, where several MLAs shifted their focus to parliamentary positions. Two MLAs from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), including a cabinet minister, and one each from the alliance partners Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and United Peoples Party Liberal (UPPL), as well as one from the opposition Congress, secured wins in the Lok Sabha polls.
In the recent elections, BJP's Parimal Suklabaidya, who represented the Dholai Assembly segment, and Ranjit Dutta from Behali, successfully contested for the Cachar and Tezpur Lok Sabha seats, respectively. Additionally, veteran AGP leader Phani Bhushan Choudhury, who has been a continuous presence in the Bongaigaon constituency since 1985, won the Barpeta Lok Sabha seat. Meanwhile, UPPL’s Joyanta Basumatary, the former MLA from Sidli, also made a mark by winning the Kokrajhar seat.
The Dhubri Lok Sabha seat was clinched by Congress’s Rakibul Hussain, marking a significant achievement as he won by a considerable margin, reinforcing his status as a five-time legislator from Samuguri.
With the bypolls approaching, all major political parties are gearing up for an intense campaign to secure their positions in these constituencies. The outcome of these elections will not only fill the vacant seats but will also serve as a crucial indicator of voter sentiment ahead of future electoral challenges in Assam.
