BJP sweeps Nandigram and Rejinagar bypolls in West Bengal with massive margins

The BJP kept Nandigram by a record margin and also took the minority-heavy constituency of Rejinagar, showing its strong grip on West Bengal politics. These two seats marked the first major ballot test for both the governing party and its rivals following the state assembly elections.

Election Results

The BJP grabbed Nandigram by a record one lakh twenty-two thousand votes, keeping its lead from the start of counting. Hansirani Rath, the mother of a murdered aide to the Chief Minister, won the seat after Suvendu Adhikari left it vacant, beating Congress candidate Milan Pradhan by a huge margin. Over in Rejinagar, Shankharavh Sarkar beat the Aam Janata Unnayan Party candidate Gulam Nabi Azad by seventy-five thousand six hundred ninety-one votes. Humayun Kabir had previously cleared Rejinagar after winning it, which forced this fresh vote.

Reactions and Allegations

Shankharavh Sarkar credited the win to minority voters backing development and answering the call of the state government instead of choosing communal politics. Union Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar noted that people who never voted for the party before have now chosen to support it. On the other side, defeated leaders slammed the outcome. Milan Pradhan accused the ruling camp of rigging booths and using the police to block genuine voters after he himself faced arrest days before the campaign closed. Humayun Kabir also complained of police harassment, old cases being reopened, and his party workers being locked up, which led him to sit out the campaigning. Rejinagar has a seventy percent Muslim population and was previously a Congress stronghold.

Context

These bypolls serve as a key indicator of shifting voter loyalties in West Bengal, particularly regarding minority communities and their willingness to engage with the ruling party outside traditional alliances. Such local elections often highlight how regional campaigns balance promises of infrastructure against accusations of administrative pressure during polling.