Guwahati:The BJP on Saturday defeated the Congress in the closely-watched by-election to the Samaguri assembly seat, which witnessed widespread violence during campaigning.
BJP candidate Diplu Ranjan Sarmah defeated Congress nominee Tanzil Hussain by 24,501 votes.
Tanzil’s father Rakibul Hussain, a former state minister, won the minority-dominated seat for five consecutive terms. His election to the Lok Sabha necessitated the bypoll.
The Congress’s loss in the seat is being seen as a personal defeat for senior Hussain, who created a record by winning the Dhubri Lok Sabha constituency with a margin of over 10 lakh votes.
Sarmah polled 81,321 votes while Tanzil secured 56,820 votes.
Samaguri was among five assembly seats where by-elections were held, and the BJP-led NDA bagged all of them.
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