BJP Pulls Ahead in Early Counts for Bengal Bypolls While Congress Alleges Fraud

The BJP took early leads in both the Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly by-elections in West Bengal during Friday counting. In the minority-dominated Rejinagar seat in Murshidabad district, which has about 70 percent Muslim voters, the BJP candidate Shankharavh Sarkar led the second-placed Congress by more than 30,000 votes by the fourth round. In Nandigram, BJP candidate Hansirani Rath built a lead of over 9,000 votes after the first round of counting, leaving the Congress trailing. Hansirani Rath is the mother of Chandranath Rath, an aide of Adhikari who was killed days after the BJP came into power.

Reactions And Background

Shankharavh Sarkar told reporters in Rejinagar that the results are still preliminary but show minority voters supporting the government, adding that people trust the development pitch. The bypolls happened because the MLAs who won these seats earlier in the year chose to keep their second seats instead. Suvendu Adhikari chose to keep his seat from Bhawanipur in Kolkata, leaving Nandigram vacant. Humayun Kabir chose to keep his Naoda seat, leaving Rejinagar vacant. During the earlier Assembly polls, Kabir won Rejinagar by 58,876 votes, but this time his party fielded his son, Gulam Nabi Azad. Police detained Kabir early on the day of voting.

Fraud Allegations

The Congress party strongly contested the early results after demanding re-polling earlier over alleged booth capturing, threats to workers and agents, and voters being blocked from entering booths. In Nandigram, Congress candidate Milan Pradhan alleged booth capturing by the BJP. On Friday, Pradhan told reporters that votes were looted and democracy killed, claiming the Congress leads only in booths where people could freely cast their votes.

Context

Assembly by-elections take place when a sitting legislator vacates a seat due to resignation, disqualification, or holding multiple seats. Parties often contest these mid-term local contests fiercely to test shifting public moods between major state-wide elections. Such counts frequently see political rivals clashing over local administration and polling fairness.