Assam Bypoll Results Live: BJP wins Behali, leads in Dholai, allies ahead in other two

The counting of votes for the bypolls to five Assembly seats in Assam began at 8 am on November 23. These seats—Dholai, Sidli, Bongaigaon, Behali, and Samaguri—became vacant after five MLAs, including a cabinet minister, moved to the Lok Sabha. Two of these MLAs were from the ruling BJP, while others hailed from the AGP, UPPL, and Congress.

LIVE UPDATES

• Congress's Samaguri candidate Tanzil Hussain, son of Lok Sabha MP Rakibul Hussain, has opened up a huge lead over BJP candidate Diplu Ranjan Sarmah. Tanzil has 21971 votes in the fourth round of counting, while Diplu has 18270 votes. AAP candidate Nurul Ain Chowdhury has 337 votes.
• AGP candidate Diptimayee Choudhury is ahead in Bongaigaon by a margin of 8967 votes. She has secured 24916 votes so far in the sixth round of counting. Trailing in second place is Congress candidate Brajenjit Singha with 15949 votes. Independent candidates have taken up a significant number of votes.
• Elsewhere in Behali, BJP candidate Diganta Ghatowal is leading with 28450 votes against Congress candidate Jayanta Borah. AAP, who fielded a candidate in Ananta Gogoi, has fared poorly with just 700 votes in the seventh round of counting.
• In the sixth round of vote counting for the Sidli Assembly bypolls, UPPL candidate Nirmal Kumar Brahma is leading with a substantial margin of 11,214 votes. As of the latest update, Brahma has secured 27,384 votes, while his closest rival, BPF's candidate, has received 16,170 votes. Congress trails significantly with only 1,399 votes, followed by 1,003 votes for the None of the Above (NOTA) option. 
• In the third round of vote counting for the Dholai Assembly bypolls, BJP candidate Nihar Ranjan Das is leading by a margin of 6,720 votes. As per the latest tally, Das has secured 16,784 votes, while his closest competitor, Congress's candidate, has garnered 10,064 votes. 
• Diganta Ghatowal of BJP is leading with 8,387 votes in Behali
• Diptimayee Choudhury of AGP is leading with 9,984 votes in Bongaigaon.
• UPPL candidate Nirmal Kumar Brahma has taken the lead with 4,434 votes.
• BJP candidate Nihar Ranjan Das has taken a lead in Dholai
• Tanzil Hussain of Congress has taken a lead in Sanaguri.
• Diganta Ghatowal of the BJP has taken the lead in Behali.
• Diptimayee Choudhury of AGP has taken the lead in Bongaigaon.
• Suddho Kumar Basumatary of the Bodoland People's Front (BPF) has taken a lead in Sidli. 
• Additional security forces have been deployed outside the polling stations in Dholai, Samaguri, Behali, Bongaigaon and Sidli assembly constituencies Thirty-four candidates are in the fray.
• The counting of votes for the Dholai assembly constituency began at the Inter State Truck Terminal of Ramnagar, for Sidli at the District Centre of Kajalgaon, for Bongaigaon at Bongaigaon College, and for Behali and Samaguri constituencies at their respective district commissioner's Office.

 

Notable transitions included BJP leaders Parimal Suklabaidya and Ranjit Dutta, who secured the Cachar and Tezpur Lok Sabha seats; AGP's Phani Bhushan Choudhury winning in Barpeta; and UPPL’s Joyanta Basumatary claiming the Kokrajhar seat.

After the polls, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Sarma took to X and wrote, "Your voice matters and the choice you make will determine the course of your constituency's development in the coming days."

An overall polling percentage of 72.83 per cent was recorded across the five Legislative Assembly Constituencies that went to the bye-elections in Assam.

Dholai - In Dholai of Barak Valley, BJP candidate Nihar Ranjan Das was engaged in a fierce battle, facing a tough challenge from Congress nominee Dhrubajyoti Purkayastha.

Sidli - The contest in Sidli, located in the Bodoland Territorial Region, has become particularly interesting as Congress has fielded a candidate after more than 20 years. A three-cornered battle was expected between Sanjib Warie of Congress, Nirmal Kumar Brahma of the United People's Party Liberal, and Suddho Kumar Basumatary of the Bodoland People's Front.

Bongaigaon - In Bongaigaon, Diptimayee Choudhury was fielded by the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), the saffron party's ally. She is the wife of AGP MP Phani Bhusan Choudhury, who represented Bongaigaon for eight consecutive terms since 1985 before moving to Parliament earlier this year. Diptimayee Choudhury is now locked in a direct contest with Brajenjit Singha of the Congress, which is aiming to capture the seat from AGP.

Behali - In Behali, Jayanta Borah, who joined Congress after being named its candidate, was set for a fierce battle, likely facing off against his former party, the BJP. The saffron party has fielded Diganta Ghatowal from the constituency. In addition to Borah and Ghatowal, Lakhikanta Kurmi from CPI(ML) Liberation, standing as a united opposition candidate, and Ananta Gogoi from AAP were also in the fray, making it a highly competitive contest.

Samaguri - In the Samaguri bypoll, Congress fielded Tanzil Hussain, the son of Dhubri MP Rakibul Hussain, to contest against BJP's Diplu Ranjan Sarma. The race has turned into a fierce tug-of-war between the two candidates, with both parties vying for control of the constituency.