The BJP was leading by more than one lakh votes in Nandigram and over 37,000 votes in Muslim-majority Rejinagar during the West Bengal Assembly by-election counting on Friday, October 9, according to Election Commission figures.
The trends showed the BJP’s Hasirani Rath building a substantial lead in Nandigram, while party candidate Shankharavh Sarkar was ahead of the Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) nominee in Rejinagar, a constituency in Murshidabad district with a predominantly Muslim electorate.
The by-elections were held around four months after the BJP came to power in West Bengal. The results were still awaited, with 15 rounds of counting scheduled in each constituency.
BJP Candidate Leads by Over 1 Lakh Votes in Nandigram
According to Election Commission figures after 13 rounds of counting, BJP candidate Hasirani Rath was leading Congress nominee Milan Pradhan by 1,05,869 votes.
Rath had secured 1,43,656 votes, compared with 37,787 votes for Pradhan.
Rath is the mother of Chandranath Rath, the personal assistant to Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari who was shot dead on May 6, two days after the BJP won the Assembly elections.
Adhikari had won Nandigram by 9,665 votes in the 2026 Assembly elections while also winning Bhabanipur. He vacated the Nandigram seat, necessitating the by-election.
The constituency has played a significant role in West Bengal politics. The anti-land acquisition movement in Nandigram helped the Trinamool Congress challenge the Left Front’s 34-year rule. In 2021, Adhikari defeated then Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the constituency.
The opposition’s strategy in the bypoll also drew attention. Trinamool Congress nominee Sanchita Pradhan Dey withdrew from the contest after meeting Adhikari. Banerjee subsequently backed Congress candidate Milan Pradhan in an apparent attempt to avoid splitting anti-BJP votes.
However, the Congress candidate remained well behind Rath in the counting trends.
“Nationalist forces are all set to win both the seats,” Adhikari told reporters.
BJP Leads in Muslim-Majority Rejinagar
In Rejinagar, BJP candidate Shankharavh Sarkar was leading AJUP nominee Golam Nabi Azad by 37,506 votes after seven rounds of counting.
Sarkar had received 61,386 votes, while Azad had secured 23,880.
Rejinagar, located in Murshidabad district, has a Muslim electorate estimated at nearly 70 per cent. The constituency has traditionally seen electoral competition involving the Congress, Trinamool Congress and regional political formations.
Azad is the son of AJUP founder Humayun Kabir, who won Rejinagar by more than 58,000 votes in the previous Assembly election. Kabir also won Nowda and vacated Rejinagar, leading to the by-election.
A former Trinamool Congress leader, Kabir was expelled from the party following controversy over his proposal to build a mosque modelled on the Babri Masjid in Murshidabad. He later founded the AJUP.
The BJP’s lead in the constituency placed the focus on the impact of a multi-cornered contest. However, the counting figures alone do not establish how different communities voted or explain the reasons behind the BJP’s performance.
Congress and Trinamool Candidates Trail in Rejinagar
Congress candidate Abdullahil Kafi was in third place with 2,893 votes, narrowly ahead of Trinamool Congress nominee Rabiul Alam Chowdhury, who had secured 2,862 votes.
Safiuzzaman Saikh, candidate of the breakaway Democratic Trinamool Congress (DTMC), led by Arup Roy, had received 932 votes.
In Nandigram, DTMC candidate Ehteshmul Haque had polled 719 votes.
The figures available during counting suggested limited support for the breakaway faction in both constituencies. However, the final results were still awaited.
