The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won both the Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly bypolls in West Bengal with substantial margins.
In Nandigram, BJP candidate Hasirani Rath secured 1,64,427 votes (75.94%), defeating Congress candidate Milan Pradhan by a margin of 1,22,753 votes. Pradhan, who received TMC support after candidate Sanchita Pradhan Dey withdrew, garnered 41,674 votes (19.25%).
Rath is the mother of Chandranath Rath, a slain close aide of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. The seat became vacant after Adhikari resigned from Nandigram to retain Bhabanipur.
In Rejinagar, BJP’s Shankharavh Sarkar won by 75,816 votes, securing 1,29,914 votes against Golam Nabi Azad (Robin) of the Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP), who gathered 54,098 votes. The seat was vacated by AJUP chief Humayun Kabir after he chose to retain Naoda.
The bypolls served as an early electoral test following the BJP’s victory in the state earlier this year. Despite Congress allegations of polling irregularities, the BJP rejected the claims and celebrated the victories.
