Senior Congress leader and Dhubri MP Rakibul Hussain has alleged large-scale irregularities in the recently concluded Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election and demanded repolling at polling stations where he claims rigging took place.
Addressing a press conference at Rajiv Bhawan in Nagaon on Wednesday, Hussain accused the ruling BJP of attempting to manipulate the bypoll, particularly in the Samaguri Assembly constituency. He alleged that several polling stations witnessed serious instances of rigging during voting on Tuesday.
Claiming that the BJP had sought to “steal” the by-election, Hussain called on the Election Commission of India (ECI) to order fresh polling at booths where the alleged irregularities were significant.
The Congress leader also criticised BJP candidate Devashish Sharma and raised concerns over the conduct of the election process.
Meanwhile, the Nagaon District Congress Committee has submitted a formal complaint to the Election Commission, seeking an inquiry into the allegations and appropriate action.
Earlier, Hussain had alleged that unidentified individuals travelling in around 11 vehicles entered several polling stations in Samaguri and attempted to influence the voting process. However, he did not disclose the identities of those allegedly involved or provide details of all the polling stations concerned.
The allegations surfaced a day after polling for the Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election concluded with an estimated voter turnout of around 76 per cent. Election officials maintained that polling across all eight Assembly segments was conducted peacefully, with no major untoward incidents reported. Minor EVM glitches were reported at a few booths and were subsequently rectified by replacing the affected machines.
The by-election witnessed a triangular contest between BJP candidate Devashish Sharma, Congress nominee Sibamoni Bora and AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal. Counting of votes is scheduled for October 9.
The allegations made by Hussain and the Congress have not been independently verified, and the Election Commission had not issued an immediate response to the latest complaint at the time of reporting.
