The final phase of campaigning for the October 6 Nagaon Lok Sabha bypoll in Assam has taken an unusual turn, with biryani, pulao, chicken, rusk and even dry fish becoming subjects of political attacks.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Congress MP Rakibul Hussain and AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal have traded remarks centred on food and their personal backgrounds as the campaign enters its closing stages. Polling will be held on October 6, while counting is scheduled for October 9.
How the biryani row began
The exchange began when Sarma targeted Hussain at an election rally, comparing the Congress leader with Bakasura, the mythological character known for his enormous appetite.
Sarma alleged that Hussain eats meat and pulao several times a day and accused him of “digesting” money meant for government schemes.
Hussain responded with sarcasm, saying he was born to enjoy biryani.
“God sent me into this world to eat biryani and Allah made me wealthy when I was born,” Hussain said, taking a swipe at the Chief Minister.
He also mocked Sarma over his alleged preference for “kata biscuit”, or rusk, saying that people who survived on such food would not understand the difference between pulao and biryani.
Hussain further joked about his childhood, saying that while babies normally drink their mother’s milk after birth, he was apparently born eating chicken biryani.
Sarma escalates attack at Nagaon rally
Sarma subsequently responded to Hussain's biryani remarks at another election rally in Nagaon.
“Those who are born to drink their mother's milk are human beings, and those born to eat biryani are animals,” Sarma said.
The exchange has become one of the prominent flashpoints of the closing days of the campaign. Sarma's remarks were also reported as part of his broader attack on Congress ahead of the bypoll.
Ajmal brings dry fish into the row
AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal then entered the verbal exchange, taking aim at Hussain over his comments about being born into wealth.
“Rakibul Hussain was born eating dry fish, not biryani,” Ajmal said.
He also challenged Hussain's claim of having been born wealthy, saying: “He was a poor man. Where would he get biryani from?”
Ajmal's intervention added another food reference to the increasingly personal campaign rhetoric. His comments came after Sarma and Hussain had already exchanged several barbs over biryani and pulao.
Three-way contest for Nagaon
The Nagaon Lok Sabha seat became vacant after former Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi resigned from the party and joined the BJP ahead of the Assam Assembly elections. Bordoloi subsequently contested the Dispur Assembly seat on a BJP ticket and won.
The BJP has fielded former Nagaon deputy commissioner and former IAS officer Devasish Sharma. Congress has nominated former Batadrava MLA Sibamoni Bora, while AIUDF has fielded its chief Badruddin Ajmal. All India Trinamool Congress candidate Abdul Salam is also contesting, making the race broader than a two-party contest.
Ajmal is seeking a return to Parliament after losing the Dhubri Lok Sabha seat to Hussain in 2024 by more than 10 lakh votes. He is currently an MLA from Binnakandi and had initially been reluctant to contest the Nagaon bypoll before his party decided to field him.
Campaign enters final stretch
The bypoll campaign will conclude on Sunday, with voters set to cast their ballots on October 6.
While the contest involves the BJP, Congress, AIUDF and AITC, the final days have been dominated by the personal exchange between Sarma, Hussain and Ajmal.
What began with Sarma's Bakasura jibe and references to meat and pulao developed into a broader exchange over biryani, rusk and dry fish, making food references an unusually prominent feature of the Nagaon campaign.