Who is Devasish Sharma, who quit IAS and got BJP ticket in days for Nagaon LS bypoll?

He is a former bureaucrat who plays the guitar, sings at public functions and runs a cancer-care organisation. But Devasish Sharma is now making headlines for a very different reason. Eight days after taking voluntary retirement from the civil services while serving as Nagaon District Commissioner (DC), the former IAS officer has been named the BJP's candidate for the Nagaon Lok Sabha bypoll. The bypoll has been necessitated after Pradyut Bordoloi, who had been with the Congress for decades, switched to the BJP and won the Assembly election held earlier this year.

Sharma took voluntary retirement on September 3, joined the BJP on September 8, and has been given the party ticket on September 11 (Friday) — all in a matter of days. In other words, within eight days of leaving government service, Sharma has received the BJP ticket for the Lok Sabha constituency in which he was serving as a senior district official.

The bypoll will be held on October 6, with counting scheduled for October 9.

Naogaon is among Assam's 14 Lok Sabha constituencies. The Nagaon parliamentary constituency covers Morigaon district and five of the seven Assembly segments in Nagaon district.

The Nagaon LS seat fell vacant after Bordoloi, who had won the constituency for the Congress in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, resigned ahead of the 2026 Assam Assembly polls and joined the BJP. He subsequently contested the Dispur Assembly seat, which he won. Bordoloi had won the Nagaon seat in 2019 too.

Sharma's entry into politics has already triggered criticism from the Congress. Many have questioned that he was already working on the ground in the area he will be contesting from, giving him an undue advantage.

Sharma's stint as the DC gives him a degree of familiarity among voters and political workers in the constituency.

Assam Congress president and Jorhat MP Gaurav Gogoi said Sharma should not have served as Nagaon's District Election Officer if he had already made up his mind to contest the election as a BJP candidate.DEVASISH SHARMA: FROM CIVIL SERVICES TO ASSAM POLITICS

Born in Jorhat, Assam, Sharma graduated in English literature and later completed a postgraduate degree in Public Relations.

He joined the Assam Civil Services in 1992 and began his career with a posting in Barpeta. In 1996, he became Special Officer to the then Governor of Assam, Lt Gen S K Sinha.

Sharma was later posted to Mumbai in 2003 as Deputy Resident Commissioner of Assam Bhawan. In that role, he represented the Assam government in Maharashtra.

He also served as Commissioner of the Guwahati Municipal Corporation. He took charge of the post in May 2021 and remained there until August 2022.

In August 2022, Sharma was posted as District Commissioner of Morigaon. He was subsequently transferred to Nagaon, where he remained until taking voluntary retirement on September 3.

Alongside his administrative career, Sharma has been involved in social work. He is the founding chairman and trustee of Deepshikha, a cancer-care organisation.GUITAR-PLAYING BUREAUCRAT GETS BJP TICKET FROM NAGAON

Sharma is known for his interest in music and has frequently played the guitar and sung at public and private events.

During his tenure as Morigaon District Commissioner, he entertained polling teams that reached the strong room late at night after the second phase of polling for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

His guitar performances also became a familiar feature at public and private functions in Nagaon, according to people who knew him. That persona is now part of the profile of a former bureaucrat making a transition into electoral politics.WHY CONGRESS IS ATTACKING DEVASISH SHARMA

There was a buzz that Devasish Sharma would join the BJP, and it intensified with him stepping down from his government service on September 3.

Congress MP Rakibul Hussain approached the Election Commission on September 4, seeking an inquiry into complaints of financial irregularities during Sharma's tenure as Nagaon DC. Hussain had also questioned Sharma's political neutrality, given that he had served as the district's election officer before joining the BJP.

The Assam Congress has questioned whether someone who had already decided to enter electoral politics should have continued in the role of Nagaon's District Election Officer.

"If Devasish Sharma had already decided to contest as a BJP candidate, he should never have served as the (Nagaon) District Election Officer," Gaurav Gogoi was quoted as saying by The Hindu.

The BJP, however, has defended Sharma's nomination, arguing that there was nothing improper about a government officer joining a political party after his voluntary retirement was accepted.- EndsPublished By: Anand SinghPublished On: Sep 11, 2026 19:53 IST