An independent candidate for the upcoming Rejinagar Assembly by-election, Shafiul Islam, was arrested on Saturday, 19 September 2026, by Nowda police from Domkal in Murshidabad district, in connection with an old case — the second opposition-linked candidate detained within two days ahead of the 6 October West Bengal by-poll.

Background to the Arrest

According to police, a major clash had taken place between workers of the Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) and All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the Patikabari area of Nowda prior to the 2026 Assembly elections. Shafiul Islam was named as an accused in that case and had allegedly been absconding since. He had filed his nomination papers on 14 September for the Rejinagar by-election as an independent candidate. He is scheduled to be produced in court on Sunday, and his residence is in Batuknathpur village under Nowda police station.

AJUP's 'Dummy Candidate' Strategy

AJUP leaders clarified that although Shafiul contested as an independent, he is in fact the party's Nowda block president. He was fielded as a 'dummy' candidate for AJUP MLA Humayun Kabir's son, Golam Nabi Azad alias Robin, who is the official AJUP candidate from Rejinagar. Party sources explained the tactic: if the main candidate's nomination were cancelled, the party's symbol would remain in the electoral fray through the dummy contestant — a strategy reportedly common in West Bengal's competitive by-poll landscape.

Opposition Cries Foul, Calls Arrests Politically Motivated

Reacting sharply to the arrest, Robin said: 'This is not how elections can be fought. As soon as the election is announced, one party worker after another is being arrested in old false cases. What hope will people have to come to vote for us? This is a tactic to intimidate the opposition.' He added that Shafiul's arrest demonstrated the ruling party was 'scared.'

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Debjit Sarkar, however, adopted a more measured stance, stating: 'If there is an old case and bail has not been taken, then he will have to be arrested. No one can do anything.'

TMC MLA from Beleghata, Kunal Ghosh, pushed back strongly against the criticism: 'This has crossed all limits of fascist autocratic politics. The same thing happened in Nandigram, and now it is happening in Rejinagar. However, our candidate is contesting in Rejinagar. Despite putting a thousand pressures on him, he could not withdraw his nomination.'

The Nandigram Precedent — A Day Earlier

Shafiul's detention follows the arrest on Friday of Milan Pradhan, the Indian National Congress (Congress) candidate from the Nandigram constituency — also scheduled for a by-election on 6 October. Pradhan was arrested in four old cases, one of which linked him to a murder during the Nandigram movement in 2007. He was produced before the Haldia court, which ordered 14 days of judicial custody. The back-to-back arrests of opposition-linked candidates have intensified allegations of electoral intimidation, with critics pointing to a pattern in the weeks preceding West Bengal by-polls.

What Happens Next

Both by-elections — in Rejinagar and Nandigram — are scheduled for 6 October 2026. The legality and continuity of the candidacies of both arrested individuals remain to be determined by the courts. The political temperature in Murshidabad and East Midnapore districts is expected to remain elevated ahead of polling day, and the arrests are likely to feature prominently in campaign narratives across the opposition spectrum.