While the attention of the country is focussed on the election drama taking place in Maharashtra and Haryana, a spate of assembly and parliamentary by-polls are also taking place. In Assam, where four seats have gone to poll, three of them – Ratabari, Rangapara and Sonari – are showing a lead for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The leader on the other seat – Jania – belongs to Badruddin Ajmal's All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF). These results indicate that the polarisation in Assam continues as the BJP has come to be identified with the National Register of Citizens while AIUDF is seen as a pro-Muslim party.
All these four seats had been vacated due to their incumbents getting elected to the Lok Sabha. The three seats going to BJP are currently held by them while the one seeing the AIUDF candidate ahead was in possession of Congress's Tapan Gogoi.
The Jania constituency is Muslim-dominated and was once held by former President of India, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed.
