The BJP on Friday swept the West Bengal assembly bypolls, trouncing its rivals by a record margin in politically significant Nandigram and scoring a victory in Rejinagar, consolidating its position barely five months after ending the TMC’s 15-year rule in the state.
In Nandigram, BJP candidate Hasirani Rath, mother of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari’s slain personal assistant Chandranath Rath, defeated Congress nominee Milan Pradhan by a record margin of 1,22,753 votes, according to the Election Commission.
Rath polled 1,64,427 votes against Pradhan’s 41,674. The victory margin far exceeded Adhikari’s 9,665-vote win in Nandigram in the 2026 assembly elections. He had subsequently retained Bhabanipur, necessitating the bypoll in the constituency.
Rath’s candidature carried an emotional dimension in the backdrop of her son’s murder in Madhyamgram on the outskirts of Kolkata on May 6, barely two days after the BJP won the assembly elections.
The BJP also registered a major breakthrough in Rejinagar constituency in Murshidabad district, where its candidate Shankharavh Sarkar defeated Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) nominee Golam Nabi Azad by 75,816 votes.
Sarkar polled 1,29,914 votes against Azad’s 54,098, securing around 63.14 per cent of the votes, while the AJUP candidate received 26.29 per cent.
Congress candidate Abdullahil Kafi secured 6,168 votes, narrowly ahead of Mamata TMC nominee Rabiul Alam Chowdhury, who polled 3,847. The CPI(M) received 3,797 votes, while Safiuzzaman Saikh of the breakaway Democratic Trinamool Congress (DTMC) secured 2,044 votes.
Rejinagar, where Muslims account for nearly 70 per cent of the electorate, has traditionally witnessed contests involving the TMC, the Congress and regional political formations.
The results constitute an important electoral test for the BJP, which stormed to power in the state earlier this year. The party’s emphatic victory in Nandigram and success in Rejinagar have reinforced its immediate electoral position.
-PTI
