Congress wrests Algapur constituency

Congress candidate Mandira Roy today wrested the Algapur Assembly constituency defeating her nearest AIUDF rival Mehbubul Hassan by 991 votes in the bypoll.
Roy, wife of Assam Public Health and Engineering Minister Gautam Roy, polled 52,791 while AIUDF's Mehbubul Hassan polled 51,880 votes, official sources said.
AGP's Kamrul Islam Choudhury polled only 933 votes and BJP's Sashadhar Pal polled 2,742 votes.
There were 12 candidates in the fray and besides the Congress and AIUDF, BJP, AGP and eight Independents had contested the polls.
Byelections to Algapur was necessitated following the death of AGP MLA Sahidul Alam Choudhary on November 20 last.

Choudhary, a former minister and five-time MLA, had held the seat since his debut in 1985 except for 2006 when it was wrested by Rahul Roy of Congress but the party gave a ticket to his mother this time.
The predominantly minority constituency was spread across Hailakandi and Cachar districts in Barak Valley.
The Congress increased its tally in the 126-member Legislative Assembly to 79, while the AGP went down to eight members from its earlier nine in the current Assembly.