Gulam Nabi Azad, son of Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) legislator Humayun Kabir, on Wednesday, 9 September filed his nomination as an AJUP candidate from the Rejinagar Assembly constituency in Murshidabad district, West Bengal, ahead of the bypoll scheduled for 6 October. The minority-dominated constituency is heading to a fresh election after Kabir, who had won from both Rejinagar and Naoda in the recent state polls, chose to retain the Naoda seat.

Why the Rejinagar Bypoll Is Being Held

In the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly elections, Humayun Kabir secured victories from two constituencies simultaneously — Rejinagar and Naoda, both in Murshidabad district. Under electoral rules, he was required to vacate one seat, and his decision to retain Naoda triggered the bypoll for Rejinagar. The election is set for 6 October, the same day as the Nandigram Assembly constituency bypoll in East Midnapore district.

Kabir Calls for Opposition Unity Against BJP

Earlier on Wednesday, Humayun Kabir made a thinly veiled appeal for support for his son, urging all Opposition parties in the state to field a single united candidate against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Rejinagar bypoll. He called on all factions of the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), the CPI(M)-led Left Front, the Indian National Congress, and the All India Secular Front (AISF) to set aside differences.

'Out of 294 seats in the state, the Opposition has won 86 seats. Of these, 80 are from the Trinamool Congress, two are from the Congress, one from the CPI(M), one from AISF and I am from AJUP. If these 86 MLAs forget their ego and unite against the BJP, then it is possible to stop BJP even in 2026,' Kabir said.

Azad Confident, Eyes BJP as Principal Rival

After filing his nomination, Gulam Nabi Azad adopted a more direct tone when speaking to reporters, identifying the BJP — not the broader Opposition — as his primary challenger. 'My principal opponent in the Rejinagar bypoll is the BJP, which also was in the Assembly polls last year. I do not think that any other party will be of any factor in the Rejinagar bypoll,' Azad said.

He expressed complete confidence in his prospects, saying: 'I am 100 per cent optimistic about my victory. My father won from the Rejinagar constituency in the Assembly elections earlier this year. We have been in politics here for a long time. I was with the people of Rejinagar and I am still with them. The people of Rejinagar will be with me. There will be no celebrities in the campaign. Only the regional and booth leadership will be in the campaign. Of course, my father will be there.'

Nandigram Bypoll Running Parallel

The Rejinagar bypoll is not the only high-stakes contest on 6 October. The Nandigram Assembly constituency in East Midnapore district is also going to the polls on the same date. The bypoll was necessitated after current West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari won simultaneously from both Nandigram and Bhabanipur in South Kolkata. He chose to retain Bhabanipur, where he had defeated his predecessor and former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee by a margin of over 15,000 votes, vacating Nandigram in the process.

With two significant bypolls on the same day, 6 October is shaping up as an early indicator of the political mood in West Bengal ahead of the 2026 state elections.