Former Nagaon deputy commissioner Debasish Sharma has been named the Bharatiya Janata Party’s candidate for the Nagaon Lok Sabha bypoll in Assam, scheduled for October 6. The BJP’s Central Election Committee approved his candidature, Rajya Sabha MP Tarun Chugh said on Friday.
Sharma recently resigned from the civil services before entering electoral politics. He resigned from government service on September 3 and joined the BJP on September 8, just days before the Election Commission announced the bypoll schedule.
A former Assam Civil Service officer, Sharma joined the service in 1992 and was later inducted into the Indian Administrative Service as part of the 2011 batch. He was appointed Nagaon’s deputy commissioner in June last year after being transferred from neighbouring Morigaon district.
The BJP leadership has described Sharma as a well-known and popular figure in Assam, highlighting his administrative experience as well as his involvement in social and cultural activities. Assam BJP president Dilip Saikia said Sharma was the “right person in the right party” while welcoming him into the organisation.
The Nagaon Lok Sabha seat fell vacant earlier this year after Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi resigned in March and subsequently joined the BJP. Bordoloi later contested the Assam assembly election from Dispur as a BJP candidate and won the seat.
Sharma’s candidature, however, has triggered criticism from the Congress. The opposition party has questioned the speed with which his resignation from government service was accepted and has approached the Election Commission of India seeking an investigation into his tenure as Nagaon deputy commissioner.
Congress MP from Dhubri Rakibul Hussain has urged the Election Commission to examine Sharma’s decisions while serving as the district’s top administrative officer. In his representation, Hussain argued that the circumstances surrounding Sharma’s sudden resignation made the matter sensitive in the context of the electoral process.
The Congress has called for a high-level probe, saying it is necessary to maintain the neutrality and credibility of the election process.
With the October 6 bypoll approaching, the contest for Nagaon is expected to attract considerable political attention. Sharma’s transition from the civil services to electoral politics, along with the Congress’s demand for an inquiry into his previous tenure, is likely to remain a major issue during the campaign.
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