NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday won both Nandigram and Rejinagar in West Bengal’s assembly bypolls. The results mark a significant electoral test for the BJP, barely four months after it came to power in the state, ending the Trinamool Congress’s 15-year rule.In Nandigram, BJP candidate Hasi Rani Rath polled 1,64,427 votes to defeat Congress nominee Milan Pradhan, who secured 41,674 votes. Rath is the mother of Chandranath Rath, former personal assistant of chief minister Suvendu Adhikari, who was shot dead in May.In Rejinagar, BJP candidate Shankharavh Sarkar won with 1,29,914 votes. His nearest rival, Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) candidate Golam Nabi Azad, secured 54,098 votes. The BJP’s victory is significant in this constituency as nearly 70% of the electorate is Muslim.
Nandigram: Mamata’s former bastion
Hasirani Rath’s victory consolidates the BJP’s position in Nandigram, in Purba Medinipur district. The constituency has remained central to West Bengal’s political narrative since the anti-land acquisition movement helped propel the Trinamool Congress to power in 2011.Nandigram later became the site of a high-profile contest between Adhikari and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee in the 2021 assembly elections. Suvendu defeated Mamata in that election.Rath’s candidature also carried an emotional dimension. Her son, Chandranath Rath, was shot dead by gunmen in Madhyamgram, on the outskirts of Kolkata, on May 6. The killing took place two days after the BJP won the West Bengal assembly elections.The bypoll was necessitated after Adhikari, who won Nandigram in the 2026 assembly elections, retained Bhabanipur.The opposition failed to mount a serious challenge to Rath. CPI candidate Santi Gopal Giri finished third with 5,779 votes. Other candidates, including those from the Left Front, ISF and the rebel Trinamool faction, Democratic Trinamool Congress, lost their deposits.
Rejinagar: BJP wins Muslim-majority seat
Sarkar’s victory in Rejinagar, in Murshidabad district, marks a breakthrough for the BJP in a constituency that has traditionally seen contests involving the Trinamool Congress, Congress and regional parties.Sarkar won by 75,816 votes, polling 1,29,914 votes against Azad’s 54,098. Congress candidate Abdullahil Kafi received 6,168 votes, while Mamata faction’s nominee Rabiul Alam Chowdhury polled 3,847. The CPI(M)’s Md Sayeed secured 3,797 votes, and Democratic Trinamool Congress candidate Safiuzzaman Saikh received 2,044.
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The fragmented opposition failed to mount a competitive challenge, leaving the BJP well ahead of its rivals.The bypoll was necessitated after AJUP founder Humayun Kabir vacated Rejinagar. A former Trinamool Congress leader, Kabir later founded the AJUP and won the constituency by more than 58,000 votes in the 2026 assembly elections. He retained Nowda, prompting the bypoll. His son, Golam Nabi Azad, contested this time on the AJUP ticket.