Five defectors win big, four former Congress leaders among victors

Guwahati: Five defectors, including four former Congress leaders, won seats in the Assam election, with former Nagaon MP Pradyut Bordoloi and former Assam Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah among the most prominent victors.Bordoloi, who quit Congress dramatically, was handed a last-minute ticket from the high-profile Dispur constituency in Guwahati. He was expected to face a stiff fight from Assam Pradesh Mahila Congress president Mira Borthakur Goswami and former BJP leader Jayanta Kumar Das, who contested as an Independent after being denied a BJP ticket. Bordoloi won by around 50,000 votes.In Bihpuria in Lakhimpur district, Bhupen Kumar Borah fought a close contest against Congress candidate Narayan Bhuyan amid voter resentment over his switch to the BJP, a party he had strongly opposed as state PCC president during Himanta's tenure as CM. After a neck-and-neck count through the day, Borah won by 8,236 votes. “My decision to join BJP by holding hands with Himanta Biswa Sarma was correct. My voters have proved it,” Borah said.In Mandia, a Muslim-majority seat in lower Assam, outspoken MLA Sherman Ali Ahmed won after being denied a Raijor Dal ticket under a seat-sharing arrangement that accommodated Congress. Congress fielded former MP Abdul Khaleque, while Sherman joined the TMC just before filing his nomination. The contest saw leads swing through most of the day before Sherman won by 27,561 votes, defeating Khaleque. Sherman had won on a Congress ticket in 2021, was later suspended for anti-party activities, and joined Raijor Dal weeks before the election.In Barak Valley, Congress defector Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha won Katigorah by 37,680 votes, defeating Congress candidate Amar Chand Jain.Another Congress turncoat, Sashi Kanta Das, won Raha by 20,594 votes. Both Kamalakhya and Sashi Kanta were suspended from Congress for openly backing CM Himanta Biswa Sarma and the BJP govt despite sitting on the opposition benches in the state assembly.