BJP Improves Tally In Assam, Bags Nine Of 14 Seats

The BJP has surpassed its 2014 tally in Assam, securing nine of the 14 Lok Sabha seats, even as its allies, the AGP and the BPF, drew a blank in the state.

The Congress has been able to bag three parliamentary constituencies and the AIUDF and an Independent one each, the results made available by the Election Commission show.

In the 2014 elections, the saffron party had won from seven seats, while the Congress and AIUDF bagged three each and an Independent secured one.

Despite widespread opposition against the BJP for pushing the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in the run-up to the three-phase polls, the party has been able to retain Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Gauhati, Lakhimpur, Mangaldoi and Tezpur, besides bagging Autonomous District (ST), Silchar and Karimganj.

It, however, lost to Congress one of the key constituencies, Nowgong, which Union minister Rajen Gohain had represented for four consecutive terms.

The BJP had fielded Rupak Sharma from the seat this time, replacing Gohain, who failed to wrest the seat from former minister and Congress nominee Pradyut Bordoloi.

In Lakhimpur, sitting BJP MP Pradan Barua defeated Congress nominee Anil Borgohain by a whopping 3,50,551 votes.

The saffron party also sprung a surprise in Autonomous District (ST) as its nominee Horen Sing Bey defeated three-time Congress MP Biren Singh Engti by 2,39,626 votes.

In the prestigious Gauhati seat, BJP's Queen Oja and former Guwahati mayor trounced Congress candidate Bobbeeta Sharma by 3,45,606 votes, while in Tezpur, state labour minister Pallab Lochan Das defeated Congress nominee and retired IAS officer MGVK Bhanu by 2,42,841 votes.

The saffron party also struck gold in Dibrugarh, with its sitting MP Rameshwar Teli defeating former Congress Union Minister Paban Singh Ghatowar by a comfortable margin of 3,46,083 votes.

In all four seats of Jorhat, Mangaldoi, Silchar and Karimganj, the BJP registered a thumping victory.

While first-timer Dilip Saikia trounced Rajya Sabha member and Congress candidate Bhubaneswar Kalita by 1,38,545 votes in Mangaldoi, Rajdeep Roy defeated All India Mahila Congress president and sitting MP Sushmita Dev by 81,596 votes in Silchar constituency.

The AIUDF has retained its Dhubri seat, with sitting MP and party nominee Badruddin Ajmal beating Congress nominee Abu Taher Bepari by over two lakh votes.

In Kokrajhar, sitting Independent MP and former ULFA ''commander'' Naba Kumar Sarania defeated BPF candidate and social welfare minister Pramila Rani Brahma by 37,786 votes.

The Congress has retained Kaliabor, while wresting Barpeta from AIUDF.

In Kaliabor, sitting MP Gaurav Gogoi, who was trailing in the initial rounds of counting, defeated AGP's Monimadhab Mahanta by 2,09,994.

The grand old party also dislodged AIUDF from Barpeta seat, with sitting MLA Abdul Khaleque defeating his nearest rival, AGP's Kumar Deepak Das, by 1,40,307 votes.

The BJP had conceded four seats to its allies this time - two to the AGP and one to the Bodoland People''s Front (BPF) - all of which were bagged by its rival parties.

Taking to Twitter on Thursday evening, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal posted pictures of "euphoric" celebrations outside state BJP headquarters.

"Euphoric scenes from @BJP4Assam HQ in Guwahati, as I joined Assam Pradesh President Shri @RanjeetkrDass along with our hardworking karyakartas to celebrate our historic victory in #LokSabhaElections2019. Here's to PM Shri @narendramodi ji and for a #VijayiBharat," he tweeted.