BJP fields ex-IAS officer Devasish Sharma for Nagaon Lok Sabha byelection
The BJP has named former IAS officer Devasish Sharma as its candidate for Assam's Nagaon Lok Sabha byelection on October 6, 2026, drawing Congress questions over his neutrality as District Election Officer.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has named former IAS officer Devasish Sharma as its candidate for the Nagaon Lok Sabha byelection, scheduled for October 6, 2026.
Mr. Sharma stepped down as Nagaon District Commissioner through voluntary retirement on September 3, with the government accepting his request the same day. He joined the BJP on Tuesday, September 8.
The Nagaon parliamentary constituency spans Morigaon district and five of the seven Assembly segments in Nagaon district. The seat fell vacant after Pradyut Bordoloi, who won it in 2019 and 2024 on a Congress ticket, resigned ahead of the April 9, 2026 Assembly elections and switched to the BJP. He now represents the party from the Dispur Assembly constituency.
Mr. Sharma's transition has drawn objections from the Opposition. On September 4, Congress leader and Dhubri MP Rakibul Hussain approached the Election Commission of India seeking a probe into complaints of financial irregularities during Mr. Sharma's tenure as District Commissioner. Citing complaints he had filed between August 28 and September 3, Mr. Hussain questioned Mr. Sharma's political neutrality and asked whether his position as Nagaon's District Election Officer could be compromised by his decision to join a political party.
Assam Congress president and Jorhat MP Gaurav Gogoi said a few days ago that if Mr. Sharma had already decided to contest as a BJP candidate, he should never have served as the Nagaon District Election Officer, calling the development "nothing short of fraud".
The BJP has defended the nomination, maintaining that there is nothing improper about a bureaucrat joining a political party after the government clears his voluntary retirement.
Mr. Sharma is known for playing the guitar and singing at public events. As Morigaon District Commissioner, he entertained polling teams that arrived at the strong room past midnight after the second phase of polling in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Acquaintances say he was a frequent performer at public and private functions in Nagaon before his retirement.
His guitar-playing invites comparison with another officer linked to Nagaon who later joined the BJP. Former IPS officer Anand Mishra served as Nagaon Superintendent of Police until his transfer to Lakhimpur district in 2022, resigned in January 2024, and went on to contest the 2025 Bihar Assembly election from the Buxar seat. Mr. Mishra was active on social media, sharing videos of his guitar sessions while serving as police chief of Nagaon and Lakhimpur.