The All India United Democratic Front has announced its chief and Binnakandi MLA Badruddin Ajmal as its candidate for the Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election in Assam. The by-election is scheduled to be held on October 6, 2026, with counting of votes scheduled for October 9. Ajmal's candidature was announced on September 15, one day before the deadline for filing nominations.
Ajmal is a former Lok Sabha member who represented the Dhubri parliamentary constituency for three consecutive terms from 2009 to 2024. He contested the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Dhubri but was defeated. He returned to state-level electoral politics in the 2026 Assam Assembly election and won the newly formed Binnakandi Assembly constituency. His decision to contest the Nagaon bypoll now gives him an opportunity to seek a return to Parliament.
The Nagaon Lok Sabha seat fell vacant after Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi resigned from the party and subsequently joined the BJP. Bordoloi later contested the Assam Assembly election from Dispur on a BJP ticket and won the seat. The vacancy led to the announcement of the Nagaon parliamentary by-election.
The AIUDF had earlier indicated that Rezaul Karim Sarkar could be its candidate for the Nagaon bypoll. However, the party's core committee eventually approved Ajmal's candidature. AIUDF general secretary Hafiz Bashir Ahmed confirmed the decision in a statement on September 15.
With Ajmal entering the race, the Nagaon contest includes candidates from several major political parties. The BJP has nominated former Nagaon Deputy Commissioner Devasish Sharma. The Congress has selected former Batadroba MLA Sibamoni Bora, while the Trinamool Congress has announced Abdul Salam as its candidate.
The BJP candidate, Devasish Sharma, recently took voluntary retirement from the Indian Administrative Service after serving as Nagaon Deputy Commissioner. He joined the BJP shortly afterwards and was selected as the party's candidate for the by-election. The Congress has raised questions about his transition from public service to electoral politics, while Sharma has been named by the BJP as its candidate for the vacant parliamentary seat.
The contest has therefore developed into a multi-party election involving the BJP, Congress, AIUDF and TMC. Some reports describe it as a three-way contest among the BJP, Congress and AIUDF, while the presence of the TMC candidate means the final contest includes four announced party candidates.
The AIUDF's decision to field Ajmal also marks a return to direct parliamentary campaigning for the party leader. Ajmal has been an active political figure in Assam for several years and founded the AIUDF before entering the 2006 Assembly election. He subsequently represented the Dhubri Lok Sabha constituency for three terms before losing his parliamentary seat in the 2024 general election.
The nomination process for the Nagaon by-election is scheduled to begin on September 16. The Election Commission will scrutinise nominations on September 17, while candidates can withdraw their nominations until September 19. Polling will take place on October 6, followed by counting on October 9.
The by-election is attracting attention because Nagaon has traditionally been an important constituency in Assam's electoral politics. The vacancy created by Bordoloi's departure has brought several political parties into the contest, with each fielding its own candidate. Ajmal's entry adds another established political figure to the race and makes the constituency an important focus of the upcoming bypoll.
Ajmal has publicly expressed confidence about his prospects in the constituency. Such statements represent the candidate's own assessment and should not be treated as an independent prediction of the election result. The final outcome will be determined by voters in the October 6 election.
For now, the key development is the AIUDF's decision to field Badruddin Ajmal himself rather than its previously discussed candidate. His nomination brings a former three-time Lok Sabha member back into the electoral contest as he seeks another opportunity to enter Parliament. The Nagaon by-election will be held on October 6, with the result scheduled to be declared on October 9.