New Delhi: In a boost to the ruling coalition government in Assam, all five assembly seats that had gone to by-elections on October 30 have been bagged by the BJP and its ally United People’s Party (Liberal). While the BJP has bagged three seats, its coalition partner United People’s Party (Liberal) has emerged victorious in two assembly segments.With the victory of Phanidhar Talukdar (from Bhabanipur), Sushanta Borgohain (from Thowra) and Rupjyoti Kurmi (from Mariani), the BJP’s tally in the 126-member assembly has gone up to 63 for the first time in Assam’s political history. The party is now just one short of touching the simple majority mark on its own.In the May 2021 assembly elections, the BJP had won 60 seats and was in need of the allies – Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the UPP(L) – to form the coalition government. After Himanta Biswa Sarma was made chief minister, he oversaw the defection of three MLAs to the BJP. Borgohain and Kurmi, the sitting MLAs from Thowra and Mariani respectively, came from Sarma’s former party the Congress. The third, Talukdar, was an AIUDF MLA. After resigning from the assembly and their respective parties, they joined the BJP to contest the October 30 by-elections, paving the way for Sarma’s government to inch closer to the simple majority mark.In the 2016 assembly polls too, the BJP had won 60 seats. Then, AGP and Bodo People’s Front (BPF) were imperative in forming a coalition government led by Sarbananda Sonowal.On Tuesday, Sushanta Borgohain defeated his nearest rival Dhaijya Konwar (supported by Raijor Dal) by a margin of 30,561 votes in the Thowra assembly constituency. Rupjyoti Kurmi retained the Mariani seat by securing 55,489 votes as against 15,385 votes by the Congress candidate Luhit Konwar.In the Bhabanipur seat, Phanidhar Talukdar retained his seat by a margin of 25,641 votes. His immediate rival, Congress’ Sailendra Nath Das, received 38,559 votes.The October 30 by-polls also helped the new party in the Bodo Territorial Region (BTR) – the UPP(L) – increase its tally in the state assembly from six to eight.While Jolen Daimary emerged victorious in the Tamulpur seat for the UPP(L) by defeating independent candidate Ganesh Kachary by over 50,000 votes, Jiron Basumatary pocketed the Gossaigaon seat by defeating his nearest rival, Congress’s Jowel Tudi, by a margin of 28,252 seats.While the Tamulpur seat was won by UPP(L) in the May 2021 assembly polls, the Gossaigaon seat had gone to its rival, the BPF. The BPF had fallen out with the BJP and contested those elections as an ally of the Congress.In the 2021 assembly polls, the Tamulpur seat was won by Leho ram Boro by defeating the BPF’s Ramdas Basumatary and the Gossaigaon constituency was won by Majendra Narzary of the BPF defeating the UPP(L) candidate Somnath Narzary. The October 30 by-elections in these two seats were necessitated due to the death of the sitting MLAs from COVID-19 complications.After the bypoll results, the strength of the main opposition, the Congress, in the Assam assembly has been reduced to 27.
