Bengal bypolls: BJP surges to massive leads in Nandigram, Rejinagar
Synopsis
BJP candidate Hasirani Rath has already surpassed Nandigram's all-time winning margin record — set by CM Suvendu Adhikari himself in 2016 — with a lead of over 97,000 votes. In Rejinagar, the BJP is ahead by more than 70,000 votes. With TMC absent from Nandigram entirely, these bypolls mark a striking shift in Bengal's most symbolically charged constituency.
Key Takeaways
BJP's Hasirani Rath leads Congress' Milan Pradhan by 97,402 votes in Nandigram after 12 rounds of counting — surpassing the constituency's 2016 winning margin record of 81,230 votes .
BJP's Sakharav Sarkar leads AJUP's Golam Nabi Azad by 70,250 votes in Rejinagar after 12 rounds.
TMC has no candidate in Nandigram; its nominee Sanchita Pradhan Dey withdrew at the last moment.
Hasirani Rath is the mother of Chandranath Rath , former PA to CM Adhikari, who was reportedly assassinated on 6 May .
CM Suvendu Adhikari said 'the nationalist force is heading for victories with landslide margins in both constituencies.' Both bypolls were triggered after Adhikari retained Bhabanipur and AJUP's Humayun Kabir retained Naoda , vacating their respective second seats.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is heading for landslide victories in both the Nandigram Assembly bypoll in East Midnapore district and the Rejinagar Assembly bypoll in Murshidabad district of West Bengal, according to counting trends recorded on 9 October. The margins being posted are among the largest seen in either constituency in recent electoral history.
Nandigram: Record-breaking margin
After 12 rounds of counting at Nandigram, BJP candidate Hasirani Rath holds a lead of 97,402 votes over Congress candidate Milan Pradhan. Notably, this margin has already surpassed the previous winning record from Nandigram set in 2016, when West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari — then contesting as an All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate — won by 81,230 votes.
In the third position at Nandigram is the Communist Party of India (CPI)'s Santi Gopal Giri, followed by All India Secular Front (AISF) candidate Ali Md Sabe Miraj Khan in fourth place. The TMC is conspicuously absent from this contest — its candidate Sanchita Pradhan Dey withdrew her nomination at the last moment, leaving the ruling party with no presence in the race.
Hasirani Rath is the mother of Chandranath Rath, the former personal assistant of Chief Minister Adhikari, who was reportedly assassinated at Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas district on 6 May. Her candidacy carries significant political and emotional weight within the BJP's campaign narrative.
Rejinagar: BJP leads by over 70,000 votes
At Rejinagar, BJP candidate Sakharav Sarkar is ahead of Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) candidate Golam Nabi Azad by 70,250 votes, as per the 12th-round tally. Congress candidate Mohammad Abdullahil Kafi is running third.
The Rejinagar bypoll was necessitated after former TMC legislator Humayun Kabir, who contested and won from both Naoda and Rejinagar as an AJUP candidate in the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly elections, chose to retain Naoda — thereby vacating the Rejinagar seat.
What the government said
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, elated at the trends, said, 'The nationalist force is heading for victories with landslide margins in both the constituencies.' Adhikari himself was elected from both Nandigram and Bhabanipur constituencies in South Kolkata during the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly elections. He retained Bhabanipur — where he defeated former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee by more than 15,000 votes — making the Nandigram bypoll necessary.
Political significance and context
Nandigram carries outsized political symbolism in West Bengal. It was the epicentre of the anti-land-acquisition movement that first propelled Mamata Banerjee to national prominence and ultimately ended the Left Front's three-decade rule. The seat's electoral trajectory — from TMC bastion to BJP stronghold — encapsulates the dramatic churn in Bengal politics over the past decade.
The TMC's decision to withdraw from Nandigram and the AJUP's role in Rejinagar reflect a fragmented opposition landscape that has evidently benefited the BJP. If these leads hold, both results will further consolidate Adhikari's political standing in the state and test the TMC's dominance narrative ahead of future elections.
Point of View
No less) tells a story about how thoroughly the political geography of that constituency has been redrawn. The TMC's decision to field and then withdraw a candidate is, at minimum, an admission of weakness; at most, a strategic retreat to avoid a humiliating third-place finish. What mainstream coverage is underplaying is how the AJUP's role in Rejinagar — drawing on the TMC's old vote bank via Humayun Kabir — has effectively split the non-BJP vote rather than consolidating it, handing the BJP a structural advantage that may persist beyond these bypolls.
NationPress
9 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the West Bengal bypoll results for Nandigram and Rejinagar?
After 12 rounds of counting on 9 October, BJP candidate Hasirani Rath leads by 97,402 votes in Nandigram and BJP candidate Sakharav Sarkar leads by 70,250 votes in Rejinagar. Both margins point to comfortable BJP victories if the trend holds.
Why were the Nandigram and Rejinagar bypolls held?
The Nandigram bypoll was necessitated because West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari won from both Nandigram and Bhabanipur in the recent Assembly elections and chose to retain Bhabanipur. The Rejinagar bypoll was triggered after AJUP's Humayun Kabir, who won from both Naoda and Rejinagar, opted to retain Naoda.
Why is the Nandigram margin historically significant?
Hasirani Rath's lead of 97,402 votes has already surpassed the previous winning record for Nandigram, which was set by Suvendu Adhikari in 2016 when he won by 81,230 votes as a TMC candidate. If sustained, it would be the largest winning margin ever recorded in the constituency.
Why did TMC not contest the Nandigram bypoll?
TMC's candidate Sanchita Pradhan Dey withdrew her nomination at the last moment, leaving the party with no presence in the Nandigram bypoll. This is widely seen as a tactical or strategic retreat by the ruling party in its former stronghold.
Who is Hasirani Rath, the BJP candidate in Nandigram?
Hasirani Rath is the mother of Chandranath Rath, who served as the former personal assistant of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and was reportedly assassinated at Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas district on 6 May.
