BJP leads in Nandigram and Rejinagar Bengal bypolls as Congress protests

The Bharatiya Janata Party has taken commanding leads in the Nandigram and Rejinagar assembly by-elections in West Bengal, prompting the opposition Congress to reject the vote counts and demand a fresh poll.

Early trends from the counting centres on Friday showed BJP candidates surging ahead in both seats, which held bypolls on Tuesday. The elections are seen as the first major test of the state’s political temperature since the BJP rose to power in West Bengal earlier this year.

Rath takes commanding lead in Nandigram

In the high-profile constituency of Nandigram, BJP candidate Hasirani Rath built a lead of between 28,000 and 30,000 votes over her nearest rival, Milan Pradhan of the Congress, after the early rounds of counting. The seat fell vacant after the newly elected Chief Minister, Suvendu Adhikari, chose to retain Bhabanipur, having won both constituencies in the general assembly election.

The BJP chose Rath, the mother of Adhikari’s former personal assistant Chandranath Rath, who was shot dead on 6 May, just two days after the BJP's election victory.

Nandigram has long been the epicentre of West Bengal's political battles. It was the hub of the anti-land acquisition movement that propelled the Trinamool Congress (TMC) to power in 2011, and the site of Adhikari's high-stakes victory over Mamata Banerjee in the 2021 election.

The current contest has also highlighted deep divisions within the TMC. After the official TMC nominee, Sanchita Pradhan Dey, withdrew from the race following a meeting with Adhikari, Mamata Banerjee’s faction threw its weight behind the Congress's Pradhan. However, a rival TMC faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee contested the seat independently under a temporary "envelope" symbol, fragmenting the opposition vote.

Unexpected gains in Rejinagar

In the Muslim-majority constituency of Rejinagar in Murshidabad district, the BJP's Shakharavh Sarkar made surprising gains. After the second round of counting, local television trends showed Sarkar leading with 20,415 votes.

His closest challenger, Golam Nabi Azad of the Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP), sat far behind with 3,865 votes, while Congress candidate Mohammad Abdullahil Kafi trailed further. The Rejinagar seat became vacant after AJUP founder Humayun Kabir chose to retain the Naoda constituency, leaving his son, Azad, to run for the vacant seat.

Congress alleges malpractice

As the BJP’s leads widened, the Congress party refused to accept the early trends, alleging widespread electoral malpractice, booth-level irregularities, and the misuse of local administration by the ruling party. Congress leaders have staged protests and formally demanded that the results be scrapped and a fresh vote ordered.

The BJP has dismissed the allegations, pointing to the high voter turnout—which reached 80.89 per cent in Nandigram—as a sign of democratic enthusiasm. The Election Commission had not yet released official validated figures at the time of reporting, but counting continues under tight security.