"My first part of the prediction came true": Himanta Biswa Sarma on Debabrata Saikia's poll defeat

Himanta Biswa Sarma on May 5 reiterated his earlier prediction regarding senior Congress leader Debabrata Saikia after the latter lost the 2026 Assam Assembly elections from the Nazira constituency.

Speaking on Saikia’s defeat, Sarma said, “I had predicted that Debabrata Saikia will lose this Assembly election and later join BJP. See, there were two parts to my prediction. First that Debabrata Saikia will lose and second that he will join BJP. So the first part of my prediction has been proven. Later he may join BJP. Five years is a long time.”

Saikia, the Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly and a senior Congress leader, contested the 2026 Assembly polls from his traditional stronghold of Nazira in Sivasagar district. However, he lost the seat by a margin of more than 46,000 votes to BJP candidate Mayur Borgohain.
According to the election results, Borgohain secured 98,198 votes, while Saikia polled 51,497 votes.

The defeat marked a major setback for the Congress in Upper Assam, where Nazira had long been considered one of the party’s remaining strongholds. The constituency has remained closely associated with the Saikia family for decades.

During the election campaign, Saikia repeatedly criticised the ruling BJP government over issues related to the economy and youth employment, accusing it of failing to fulfil promises made over the last decade. Following the completion of polling in April 2026, Saikia had dismissed exit poll projections forecasting a sweeping NDA victory, maintaining that voters were seeking political change.

Debabrata Saikia is the son of former Assam Chief Minister Hiteswar Saikia. He had been involved in organisational and election-related activities alongside his father since 1978.