Nagaon bypoll records about 76% turnout; result due on October 9

About 76% of the approximately 1.905 million registered voters cast ballots in the Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election in Assam on Tuesday, according to state election officials cited by The Hindu. The final percentage was expected to increase because voters already inside polling stations before the 5 p.m. closing time were allowed to vote.

The result is due on October 9. Fifteen candidates contested the constituency, which covers eight Assembly segments across Morigaon and Nagaon districts. The principal contest was expected to involve Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Devasish Sharma, a former bureaucrat; Congress candidate Sibamoni Bora, a former MLA; and All India United Democratic Front chief Mohammed Badruddin Ajmal, an MLA and three-time former MP.

All three expressed confidence about winning, according to The Hindu. The by-election was triggered by the departure of Pradyut Bordoloi, who had won the seat for Congress for a second consecutive term in 2024. Bordoloi later quit Congress, contested the Dispur Assembly seat on a BJP ticket and won it.

The Hindu described polling as largely peaceful apart from a minor confrontation over alleged vote-switching at a booth in Juria, in Nagaon district. Opposition leaders, including Ajmal and Congress’s Dhubri MP Rakibul Hussain, alleged that unidentified people had entered several polling stations. Hussain also accused the BJP of attempting to rig the election.

The supplied report does not provide an official finding supporting or rejecting those allegations. The poll took place alongside by-elections in other states and Puducherry. India Today reported turnout of 79.39% in West Bengal’s Nandigram, 78.42% in Rejinagar, 86.26% in Tamil Nadu’s Madurantakam, 80.30% in Dharapuram and 78.83% in Puducherry’s Thattanchavady in its latest update.

The West Bengal contests drew sharper allegations from Congress leaders. State Congress president Subhankar Sarkar demanded fresh polling in Nandigram and Rejinagar, citing alleged voter intimidation and the removal of party polling agents. Candidates Milan Pradhan and Mohammad Abdullahil Kafi made similar claims about Nandigram and Rejinagar respectively.

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury accused the BJP of “vote loot” and alleged that police assisted the ruling party. BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari rejected the broader criticism, saying polling in Nandigram and Rajnagar was peaceful and that Election Commission rules governed the process. Those disputes concern the West Bengal bypolls rather than the reported Nagaon result.

In Assam, the immediate verified figures are the roughly 76% turnout, the three-way focus of the contest and the scheduled October 9 count. The final participation rate and winner remain pending.