Guwahati, Mar 10: Ruling BJP alliance candidate Bhuban Gam on Thursday widened his lead over nearest rival, joint opposition nominee Chittaranjan Basumatary of the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), to over 32,000 votes in the Majuli assembly by-election, as per the latest ECI data.
Gam garnered 50,146 votes, while Basumatary secured 18,139 votes. Bhaity Richong of SUCI-C was in the third position with 1,755 votes, while 1,271 votes were polled for NOTA. A total of 71.76 per cent of the 1.33 lakh voters exercised their franchise in the by-election which was held on March 7.
The by-election was necessitated following the resignation of Union minister and former Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who was elected to the Rajya Sabha unopposed on September 27 last year. He was elected to the state assembly from the seat for two consecutive terms.
