Bengal bypolls: Nandigram, Rejinagar results to indicate political mood after BJP's rise to power

Kolkata: Counting of votes for the Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly bypolls will begin at 8 am on Friday, with the results likely to indicate the political mood in West Bengal after the BJP replaced the TMC after 15 years in power.

The two bypolls, held on Tuesday, are not a referendum on the four-month-old BJP government, but the results will be closely watched to assess the party's electoral strength after moving from the opposition to the government and how the opposition space is shaping up amid a fragmented political field.

Nearly 80 per cent of the around 5.24 lakh electors in the two constituencies voted, with Nandigram recording 80.89 per cent turnout and Rejinagar 80.08 per cent, according to the Election Commission.


Polling was, however, marked by allegations of voter intimidation, booth-level irregularities and sporadic clashes.

The arrest of Aam Janata Unnayan Party chief Humayun Kabir following a confrontation with police in Rejinagar and the Congress' demand for repolling in both constituencies cast a shadow over the exercise.

The EC described polling as more or less peaceful. Its Complaint Monitoring System received 37 complaints, while the National Grievance Service Portal received 60 complaints, according to the poll panel.

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The counting process will therefore be closely watched, particularly in Rejinagar, where several opposition formations have contested amid competing claims over the political space vacated by the TMC's split.

In Nandigram, counting will be held at the Kabi Sukanta Secondary Teacher's Training Institute and its annexed building.

There will be two EVM counting halls, with votes to be counted in 15 rounds. A separate hall has been earmarked for counting Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballots and postal ballots.

At Rejinagar, counting will take place at Berhampore Girls College, also in two EVM counting halls and 15 rounds. One separate hall will be used for ETPB and postal ballots.

One counting observer has been assigned to each constituency.

Nandigram carries particular political symbolism for both the BJP and the TMC.

The constituency was at the centre of the anti-land acquisition movement that helped propel the TMC to power in 2011 and was where Suvendu Adhikari defeated Mamata Banerjee in the 2021 Assembly election.

Adhikari, now chief minister, won Nandigram again in the 2026 Assembly election but retained Bhabanipur in south Kolkata, necessitating the bypoll.

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The BJP has fielded Hasirani Rath, whose son Chandranath Rath, a former aide of Adhikari, was shot dead on May 6, two days after the BJP won the Assembly elections.

Her candidature added an emotional dimension to the contest.

The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC faction's nominee Sanchita Pradhan Dey withdrew from the contest after meeting Adhikari, following which Banerjee backed Congress candidate Milan Pradhan.

A rival TMC faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee has also contested Nandigram under a separate temporary party identity and the 'envelope' symbol, making the seat a test not only of the BJP's hold but also of whether tactical opposition cooperation can translate into votes.

Rejinagar presents a markedly different political equation.

The seat fell vacant after Humayun Kabir, who had won both Rejinagar and Nowda in the 2026 Assembly election, retained Nowda. His AJUP has fielded his son Golam Nabi Azad in Rejinagar. Kabir had won the seat by nearly 59,000 votes.

The contest also featured BJP nominee Sakharav Sarkar, Mamata-led TMC candidate Rabiul Alam Chowdhury, rival TMC candidate Safiuzzaman Sheikh, Congress nominee Mohammad Abdullahil Kafi and CPI(M)'s Syed Asad Ali.

The constituency's substantial minority electorate makes the result significant for all the major political formations, particularly at a time when the BJP is seeking to expand its support beyond its traditional base and opposition parties are attempting to retain their respective vote banks.

For the Mamata-led faction, Rejinagar is also a test of whether it can retain electoral traction without the familiar TMC name and symbol. The rival faction, meanwhile, is seeking to establish its claim over the party's political inheritance.

The two constituencies also offer contrasting tests for Congress.

In Nandigram, it had the backing of Banerjee after the TMC faction withdrew its candidate, while in Rejinagar it fought independently. The results could therefore feed the continuing debate within the party over rebuilding on its own or pursuing tactical understandings with other anti-BJP forces.

For the BJP, the two seats provide an early indication of whether the political momentum that took it from opposition to government has carried into the first electoral contest after the change of regime.

The results will also be watched for their implications for the opposition space.

With the TMC divided and Congress, the Left and other regional formations seeking to retain or expand their respective bases, the bypolls could indicate whether the fragmented field is beginning to produce a clearer political challenger to the BJP.

The polling-day developments have added another layer to the counting.

Congress sought repolling in both constituencies, alleging intimidation and irregularities, while the BJP rejected the allegations.

In Rejinagar, Kabir's arrest after his confrontation with police became the most prominent flashpoint of the day.

The high turnout, meanwhile, has added to the interest around the verdict.

The BJP's rise to power, the TMC's fragmentation and the search for a new opposition configuration have fundamentally altered the political setting in which these bypolls were held.

The two results will now provide an early indication of how that changed political landscape is translating into votes, with Nandigram and Rejinagar offering two different windows into the emerging balance of political forces in Bengal.