Nagaon bypoll: BJP, Congress workers clash for second day as Assam campaign heats up

Campaigning for the by-election to the Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency in Assam remained tense for a second consecutive day on Tuesday (September 22, 2026), with workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress clashing in Morigaon district.

According to district officials, BJP workers blocked the vehicle of Congress MLA Asif Nazar at Garoimari in Morigaon district. A scuffle broke out between workers of the two parties. The situation was brought under control after the police escorted Mr. Nazar's vehicle away from the spot, the officials said.

The incident followed a confrontation on Monday (September 21, 2026), when BJP workers allegedly attacked the vehicles of Congress leaders travelling to Samaguri in the adjoining Nagaon district for an election meeting. Among those travelling were State Congress president Gaurav Gogoi and former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.

In a complaint to the local police, the Congress alleged that BJP supporters pelted stones and damaged the vehicle in which its candidate, Sibamoni Bora, was travelling. The party said All India Congress Committee secretary Manoj Chauhan was injured in the attack. There was no immediate public response from the BJP to the complaint, and it was not immediately clear whether any arrests had been made in either incident.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, however, said the Samaguri clash was between rival factions within the Congress party. He advised the Congress leadership to keep its house in order and not let internal differences spill onto the streets.

The Nagaon Lok Sabha seat fell vacant after Pradyut Bordoloi, who won it for a second successive term in 2024, quit the Congress and joined the BJP. He contested and won the Dispur Assembly seat on a BJP ticket in April 2026.

The by-election is scheduled for October 6. Fifteen candidates are in the fray, though the contest is expected to be mainly among Ms. Bora of the Congress, the BJP's Devasish Baruah, a former bureaucrat, and Mohammed Badruddin Ajmal, chief of the All India United Democratic Front.

Campaigning in a parliamentary by-election is a routine exercise in democratic choice, and the Model Code of Conduct in force for the poll places the responsibility for law and order on the district administration and the police. Political parties are expected to put their case to voters without disrupting public order, and disputes over seats, candidates or claims are ordinarily settled through the ballot, the courts or the Election Commission's grievance mechanisms — not on the road.

Assam has witnessed tensions between rival party workers during election campaigns in the past, and the district administrations in Nagaon and Morigaon are now under pressure to ensure that the remaining days of campaigning pass off peacefully. The police have said the situation at both locations was brought under control, but with polling still about two weeks away, the coming days will test whether the two parties can keep their cadre in check.

Nagaon is one of the larger Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam in terms of electorate, and the outcome of the by-election will be watched closely for signals about the State's political mood ahead of future electoral contests.