Congress' Rakibul Hussain claims party lost Samaguri bypoll due to 'rigging'

Guwahati: Dhubri Congress MP Rakibul Hussain on Saturday accused Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of using the administrative machinery for "vote-rigging" in the Samaguri Assembly by-election.

Talking to reporters here, Hussain said: "We have not lost in Samaguri. CM Sarma used the administrative machinery to capture booths and conducted extensive rigging in different places."

The Congress MP further said: "Chief Minister Sarma now desires to get a section of religious minority votes in the 2026 Assembly polls, and this tendency might lead to BJP's loss."

"I remember once the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) went for Muslim votes ignoring their traditional vote bank. This caused the ousting of AGP from power in the polls," he said.

Five Assembly seats in Assam - Dholai, Behali, Samaguri, Bongaigaon and Sidli went to bypolls as the legislators in these seats were elected to the Lok Sabha in the general elections this year.

Except for Samaguri, other four constituencies were held by BJP and its allies - Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and United People's Party Liberal (UPPL).

The BJP has retained two constituencies - Dholai and Behali with Nihar Ranjan Das and Diganta Ghatowal comfortably winning these two constituencies in the by-election. The ruling party breached Congress bastion in Samaguri with the win of Diplu Ranjan Sarmah here.

The AGP also won the Bongaigaon seat by a margin of 35,164 votes. Diptimayee Choudhury won here on AGP’s ticket. Her husband and now a Lok Sabha MP from Barpeta - Phanibhusan Choudhury was a six-time MLA from Bongaigaon seat.

Another ally of the BJP, UPPL also won the by-election in the Sidli Assembly constituency defeating his nearest candidate by a difference of 37,016 votes.

Congress drew a blank in the bypolls despite contesting all five seats that went to by-elections. The opposition party lost its bastion in the Samaguri Assembly constituency as Rakibul Hussain's son Tanzil Hussain conceded defeat to BJP's Diplu Ranjan Sarmah.

Rakibul Hussain has been representing Samaguri in the Assembly since 2001 and he vacated this seat after winning Lok Sabha polls this year.