Guwahati, Sept. 16 -- The four primary candidates for the upcoming Nagaon bypoll are a disparate lot: a recently retired IAS officer making his poll debut, the head of a regional outfit trying to revive the party's fortunes, a former legislator seeking another electoral glory and a retired college vice-principal attempting a political launch.

They go against each other for the Nagaon Lok Sabha seat in Assam on October 6, marking the first electoral battle in the northeastern state. This follows the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies winning a one-sided victory in the assembly polls in April this year, securing 102 of the 126 seats.

Since this is the first time both ruling and opposition parties return to the poll battle after t...