Bypolls: a test for Congress’ bid to bounce back in northeast

A challenge for BJP too to achieve simple majority mark in Assam

The Congress’s bid to bounce back after reverses would be put to test across the nine Assembly seats in three northeastern States where byelections would be held on October 30.

The campaign for the constituencies ended on Wednesday evening.

The Congress is the only political party contesting all nine seats — five in Assam, three in Meghalaya and one in Nagaland. It did not field any candidate for the Opposition-less Nagaland’s Shamator-Chessore seat that National Democratic Progressive Party candidate S. Keoshu Yimchunger had won uncontested.