Bengal: BJP Wins Nandigram and Scores Victory in Rejinagar Bypolls

PTI, Oct 9, 2026, Kolkata: The BJP on Friday swept the West Bengal assembly by-elections, trouncing its rivals by a record margin in politically significant Nandigram and scoring a surprise victory in Muslim-majority Rejinagar, consolidating its position barely five months after ending the TMC’s 15-year rule in the state.

The results offered two contrasting but politically consequential readings of West Bengal’s evolving electoral landscape: the BJP’s consolidation in Nandigram, a constituency key to the state’s political history, and its breakthrough in Rejinagar, where minority votes have traditionally shaped electoral contests.

The scale of the victories also exposed the vulnerabilities of a fragmented opposition, with all candidates except the runner-up in each constituency forfeiting their security deposits.

In Nandigram, BJP candidate Hasirani Rath, mother of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari’s slain personal assistant Chandranath Rath, defeated Congress nominee Milan Pradhan by a record margin of 1,22,753 votes, according to the Election Commission.

Rath polled 1,64,427 votes against Pradhan’s 41,674. The victory margin far exceeded Adhikari’s 9,665-vote win in Nandigram in the 2026 assembly elections. He had subsequently retained Bhabanipur, necessitating the by-election in the constituency.

Rath’s candidature carried an emotional dimension in the backdrop of her son’s murder in Madhyamgram on the outskirts of Kolkata on May 6, barely two days after the BJP won the assembly elections.

Nandigram has remained central to West Bengal’s political narrative since the anti-land acquisition movement propelled the TMC to power in 2011, ending the Left Front’s 34-year rule. The constituency subsequently became the site of one of the state’s most consequential electoral battles in 2021 when Adhikari defeated Banerjee.

The BJP’s victory gives the ruling party an opportunity to reinforce its position in a constituency closely associated with Adhikari’s political journey.

The opposition’s strategy in Nandigram also came under scrutiny. The Mamata All India Trinamool Congress nominee, Sanchita Pradhan Dey, withdrew from the contest after meeting Adhikari, following which Banerjee backed Congress candidate Pradhan in an apparent attempt to prevent a division of anti-BJP votes. The Congress nominee, however, finished far behind Rath.

The BJP also registered a major breakthrough in Rejinagar, a Muslim-majority constituency in Murshidabad district, where its candidate Shankharavh Sarkar defeated Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) nominee Golam Nabi Azad by 75,816 votes.

Sarkar polled 1,29,914 votes against Azad’s 54,098, securing around 63.14 per cent of the votes, while the AJUP candidate received 26.29 per cent.

Congress candidate Abdullahil Kafi secured 6,168 votes, narrowly ahead of Mamata TMC nominee Rabiul Alam Chowdhury, who polled 3,847. The CPI(M) received 3,797 votes, while Safiuzzaman Saikh of the breakaway Democratic Trinamool Congress (DTMC) secured 2,044 votes.

Rejinagar, where Muslims account for nearly 70 per cent of the electorate, has traditionally witnessed contests involving the TMC, the Congress and regional political formations.

The BJP’s victory marked a sharp contrast with the 2026 assembly elections, when AJUP founder Humayun Kabir won Rejinagar by more than 58,000 votes while also securing Nowda. His son, Golam Nabi Azad, contested the by-election after Kabir vacated Rejinagar to retain Nowda.

Kabir, a former TMC leader who was expelled from the party following controversy over his proposal for a Babri Masjid-style mosque in Murshidabad, subsequently founded the AJUP, reshaping the political contest in the constituency.

The BJP’s performance has brought renewed attention to the constituency’s electoral equations as 15 candidates were in the fray and several competing parties sought to woo voters. The divided opposition may have helped the BJP, though the result alone does not establish how each community voted or explain the reasons behind its victory.

Adhikari had earlier in the day told reporters, “Nationalist forces are all set to win both the seats. Bengali Muslim voters have supported the BJP in both the seats.”

The rebel TMC faction’s electoral rout has also raised questions about its prospects as it sought to establish its claim to the party’s political legacy under a separate identity. Its candidates finished far behind the BJP in both constituencies, offering little evidence of a substantial independent electoral base.

The results constitute an important electoral test for the BJP, which stormed to power in the state earlier this year. The party’s emphatic victory in Nandigram and unexpected success in Rejinagar have reinforced its immediate electoral position, while leaving the opposition to reckon with its inability to mount a competitive challenge in either constituency.