‘We are confident that Congress will definitely win’: Sibamoni Bora after Nagaon bypoll ticket

Former Batadroba MLA Sibamoni Bora, who was named the Congress candidate for the upcoming Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election, on Tuesday, September 15, expressed confidence that the party would win the seat.

“We are confident that the Congress will definitely win,” Bora told reporters after arriving at the Congress office in Nagaon on Tuesday.

Bora also said there was no factional politics in the Congress, alleging that such politics existed within the BJP.

She further claimed that the BJP was “extremely worried” and said this was why AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal, who had earlier indicated that he would give the ticket to another candidate, had now been forced to hold back.

The Congress named Bora as its candidate on Monday night for the Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election.

Bora, a former Block Development Officer (BDO), made her electoral debut in the 2021 Assam Assembly elections. Contesting from Batadroba, she defeated sitting BJP MLA and actor-turned-politician Angoorlata Deka by 32,820 votes.

The BJP has fielded former IAS officer Devasish Sharma for the bypoll. Sharma, who served as the Deputy Commissioner of Nagaon, took voluntary retirement from the civil service before entering electoral politics.

His tenure as Deputy Commissioner gives him familiarity among voters and political workers in the constituency.

Bora's candidature brings together administrative experience and a previous Assembly victory, while also giving the Congress a familiar face from the Nagaon-Batadroba region as it seeks to challenge the BJP in the bypoll.

The contest is shaping up as a battle between two candidates with administrative backgrounds but different political trajectories — Bora, a former bureaucrat who entered electoral politics through the Congress and won the Batadroba Assembly seat in 2021, and Sharma, a former IAS officer making his electoral debut with the BJP.

The Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election will be held on October 6, with counting scheduled for October 9.

Nagaon is one of Assam's 14 Lok Sabha constituencies. The constituency covers Morigaon district and five of the seven Assembly segments in Nagaon district.