Guwahati, Nov 10 (IANS) Assam’s ruling Congress party Tuesday wrested both the assembly seats for which by-elections were held three days ago from the opposition Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Asom United Democratic Front (AUDF).
Wajed Ali Choudhury won the South Salmara seat by a margin of more than 6,000 votes defeating AUDF candidate Abdur Rahman Ajmal, son of party chief Badruddin Ajmal.

South Salmara is about 300 km west of Assam’s main city of Guwahati.

In the Dhekiajuli seat in northern Assam’s Sonitpur district, Congress candidate Bhimananda Tanti trounced AGP candidate Shib Charan Sahu by over 21,000 votes.

The by-elections were necessitated after sitting legislators Joseph Toppo from the AGP and Badruddin Ajmal of the AUDF were elected as Lok Sabha MPs in the last general elections from Dhekiajuli and South Salmara respectively.

The AGP and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had a pre-poll alliance in the by-elections - the AGP put up its candidate in the Dhekiajuli seat and the BJP fielded its candidate in the South Salmara seat as part of the seat-sharing arrangement.

“We are happy at the results and believe the people of Dhekiajuli and South Salmara voted for the Congress party for the good governance we are providing to the people of Assam for the past eight years now,” Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi told journalists.

The AGP and the AUDF accepted defeat.

“We accept the people’s verdict and now we must strengthen our base for the 2011 assembly elections,” said AGP leader Atul Bora.