BJP's Hasirani Rath wins Nandigram bypoll by record 1,22,753-vote margin
Synopsis
BJP's Hasirani Rath has shattered a nearly decade-old record in Nandigram — winning the bypoll by 1,22,753 votes, eclipsing the 81,230-vote margin set by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari himself in 2016. With TMC absent and its backing of Congress yielding just 41,000 votes, the result exposes a stark collapse of opposition consolidation in one of Bengal's most politically charged constituencies.
Key Takeaways
Hasirani Rath (BJP) won the Nandigram bypoll on 9 October by a record margin of 1,22,753 votes — the highest from the seat since 1967 .
Rath secured 1,64,427 votes ; Congress candidate Milan Pradhan came second with 41,674 votes .
BJP recorded a 25.79 per cent positive vote swing; Rath won 75.94 per cent of total votes polled.
The previous Nandigram record was held by CM Suvendu Adhikari , who won by 81,230 votes as a TMC candidate in 2016 .
TMC did not contest; its candidate withdrew and Mamata Banerjee backed Congress, which still finished a distant second.
Rath is the mother of Chandranath Rath , Adhikari's former aide, who was assassinated in North 24 Parganas on 6 May .
Hasirani Rath, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate, has won the Nandigram Assembly Constituency bypoll in East Midnapore district of West Bengal by a record margin of 1,22,753 votes — the highest winning margin from Nandigram since 1967. Rath secured 1,64,427 votes, comfortably outpacing all rivals in a contest that saw the ruling All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) absent from the fray.
Final Vote Count
Congress candidate Milan Pradhan finished second with 41,674 votes, while Communist Party of India (CPI) candidate Santi Gopal Giri came third with 5,779 votes. Ali Md Sabe Miraj Khan of the All India Secular Front (AISF) secured 1,607 votes in fourth place, and the Democratic Trinamool Congress, led by Ritabrata Banerjee, finished fifth with just 853 votes.
A Historic Margin — and What Broke the Record
The previous record victory margin from Nandigram had been held by West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, who won the seat in 2016 as a TMC candidate by 81,230 votes. Rath's margin shatters that benchmark by more than 40,000 votes. Statistically, BJP witnessed a 25.79 per cent positive vote swing compared to the earlier assembly election this year, with Rath securing 75.94 per cent of total votes polled.
This is a striking contrast to Adhikari's own performance in the 2026 assembly elections, where he won Nandigram by a margin of just 9,665 votes, or 50.37 per cent of the total votes cast at the time.
Why the Bypoll Was Necessitated
The seat fell vacant after Adhikari, who had been simultaneously elected from both Nandigram and Bhabanipur Assembly Constituency in South Kolkata this year, chose to retain Bhabanipur — where he defeated former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee by a margin of just over 15,000 votes. Under electoral rules, a legislator cannot hold two seats, making the Nandigram bypoll mandatory.
TMC's Absence and Congress Support
Notably, the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC did not contest the Nandigram bypoll. Its candidate, Sanchita Pradhan Dey, withdrew her nomination at the last moment, after which Mamata Banerjee announced her support for the Congress candidate. Despite the TMC's backing, the Congress candidate polled fewer than 42,000 votes — a result that raises pointed questions about the opposition's consolidation on the ground.
Who Is Hasirani Rath
Rath is the mother of Chandranath Rath, former personal assistant of Chief Minister Adhikari, who was assassinated at Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas district on 6 May. Her candidacy carried strong emotional resonance in the constituency. Adhikari, reacting to the result, said: 'Before the bypolls, I predicted that the victory margin for the BJP candidate this time would surpass my own record in 2016. This is what exactly happened. This would not have been possible unless our candidate had secured the majority of the minority votes in Nandigram.'
Results for the Rejinagar Assembly Constituency bypoll in Murshidabad district were yet to be announced at the time of reporting. The Nandigram verdict, however, signals a significant consolidation of BJP's electoral hold over a seat that has been politically symbolic in Bengal for nearly two decades.
Point of View
The combined anti-BJP vote still couldn't cross 50,000 — suggesting the opposition's ground organisation in East Midnapore has severely weakened since the 2021 assembly elections. Adhikari's claim that the BJP candidate secured a majority of the minority vote, if borne out by booth-level data, would be the most significant political shift in this result — and the most uncomfortable finding for TMC's narrative of minority consolidation. The bypoll also underscores how sympathy votes, in this case for Hasirani Rath as a grieving mother, can be converted into a landslide when organisational machinery is already dominant.
NationPress
9 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the Nandigram bypoll in 2026?
Hasirani Rath of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the Nandigram Assembly Constituency bypoll on 9 October 2026 by a record margin of 1,22,753 votes, securing 1,64,427 votes in total. It is the highest winning margin from the seat since 1967.
Why was the Nandigram bypoll held?
The bypoll was necessitated after West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, who won both Nandigram and Bhabanipur in the 2026 assembly elections, chose to retain Bhabanipur. Electoral rules prohibit a legislator from holding two seats simultaneously, making the Nandigram seat vacant.
Why did TMC not contest the Nandigram bypoll?
The TMC's candidate Sanchita Pradhan Dey withdrew her nomination at the last moment. TMC chief and former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee subsequently announced her support for the Congress candidate, Milan Pradhan, who finished second with 41,674 votes.
What record did Hasirani Rath break in Nandigram?
Rath's victory margin of 1,22,753 votes is the highest from Nandigram since 1967, surpassing the previous record of 81,230 votes set by CM Suvendu Adhikari himself when he won the seat as a TMC candidate in 2016.
Who is Hasirani Rath?
Hasirani Rath is the mother of Chandranath Rath, who served as the former personal assistant of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and was assassinated at Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas district on 6 May. Her candidacy carried significant emotional weight in the Nandigram constituency.
