AJUP chief Humayun Kabir detained after voting in Rejinagar bypoll

Humayun Kabir detained after casting vote

On Tuesday, 6 Oct 2026, Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) chief and West Bengal MLA Humayun Kabir was taken into police custody in Murshidabad shortly after he voted in the Rejinagar Assembly by‑election. The police said the detention followed a "heated argument" that broke out at the AJUP party office.

Who is involved

• Humayun Kabir – AJUP chief, MLA, and former winner from both Rejinagar and Nowda. He had resigned from one seat, triggering the Rejinagar poll.
• Rejinagar Police – the local law‑enforcement agency that detained Kabir.
• Competing candidates – BJP’s Sakharav Sarkar, TMC’s Rabiul Alam Chowdhury and Safiuzzaman Sheikh, Congress’s Mohammad Abdullahil Kafi, and CPI(M)’s Syed Asad Ali.
• Election officials – overseeing security and counting across West Bengal’s by‑polls.

What happened on the day of voting

Voting began early across five Assembly seats in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, plus a Lok Sabha seat in Assam. In West Bengal, the focus was on the Rejinagar and Nandigram constituencies. While the Election Commission deployed multi‑layered security arrangements, the atmosphere turned tense in Murshidabad when Kabir’s visit to the polling booth was followed by a confrontation with police officers. He was briefly detained and then released, according to officials.

What follows

The Election Commission has scheduled the counting of votes for 9 Oct 2026. Both Rejinagar and Nandigram have over 250 k voters each – 2.57 lakh in Rejinagar with 315 polling stations, and 2.67 lakh in Nandigram with 323 stations. All booths are being webcast, allowing observers to monitor the process.

Context of the by‑election

The Rejinagar seat fell vacant after Kabir won it alongside Nowda and chose to resign from one constituency. In Nandigram, the vacancy arose when Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari retained the seat he won in both constituencies during the state Assembly elections earlier this year. The high‑profile nature of both contests has drawn national attention and prompted heightened security.

Key numbers at a glance

• Electorate in Rejinagar: 2.57 lakh
• Polling stations: 315 (Rejinagar) / 323 (Nandigram)
• Counting date: 9 Oct 2026
• Date of detention: 6 Oct 2026

The episode underscores the charged atmosphere surrounding West Bengal’s by‑polls, where political rivalries often spill over into confrontations on the ground.