Guwahati | The BJP on Friday named former Nagaon Deputy Commissioner Devasish Sharma as its candidate for the Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election, ending days of speculation and setting up a four-cornered contest for the seat.

The party announced Sharma’s candidature through a statement issued by its Central Election Committee. The decision was communicated from the BJP headquarters in New Delhi and signed by national headquarters in-charge Tarun Chugh.

Sharma, who joined the BJP on September 9 after ending his career as a civil servant, said he was confident of receiving public support based on his long association with the people of Nagaon. “As a candidate I am confident and sure that I will garner love from all. The relationship between people of this constituency and me is not just for the sake of elections, but has been there for long,” he said.

Sharma said voters were looking for transformation and development and claimed the BJP was best placed to deliver on those expectations, with the party in power at both the Centre and in Assam. He said his campaign would focus particularly on the younger generation and their role in leadership and nation-building.

“Construction of roads, schools and others will be there but our primary focus must be over the young generation on how they can take up leadership and nation-building,” Sharma said. On Nagaon’s sizeable minority population, Sharma said members of the community were also seeking opportunities and had expressed optimism about the changes brought by the BJP-led government.

“There was no politics when I was working in Nagaon for 25 years,” he said, referring to his long association with the district as a government official. Sharma said preparations for filing his nomination were underway and the necessary paperwork was being completed. The deadline for filing nominations is September 16.

Assam BJP president Dilip Saikia congratulated Sharma and expressed confidence that the party would secure a decisive victory in the bypoll. BJP MP from Guwahati Bijulee Kalita Medhi said the party’s preparations were almost complete and expressed optimism about its prospects, including among minority voters.

The announcement came as the extended state executive meeting of the Assam BJP was being held in Guwahati, where senior leaders discussed the Nagaon bypoll and other organisational issues. Assam Minister Ashok Singhal said the bypoll, the Silchar Municipal Corporation election and the party’s month-long ‘Seva Hi Seva Sankalp’ programme were among the issues being discussed at the meeting.

The Congress is yet to announce its candidate, while the Trinamool Congress and AIUDF have already entered the contest, making the Nagaon bypoll a closely watched multi-cornered battle. Former Congress Nagaon MP and Dispur MLA Pradyut Bordoloi said voters would decide the outcome irrespective of the constituency’s demographic composition.

The bypoll will be Sharma’s first electoral test after his entry into active politics. His candidature also marks a shift from a 25-year administrative career in Nagaon to electoral politics. The election is scheduled for October 6, with counting set for October 9.