BJP sweeps Nandigram, Rejinagar bypolls with big wins for Hasirani Rath, Shankharavh Sarkar

BJP's Hasirani Rath secured 1,64,427 votes, accounting for 75.94 per cent of the total votes polled.

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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has registered a decisive victory in the Nandigram Assembly bypoll in West Bengal, with party candidate Hasi Rani Rath defeating her nearest rival, Milan Pradhan of the Indian National Congress, by a margin of 1,22,753 votes.

According to the ECI, Rath secured 1,64,427 votes, including 1,63,630 votes from the EVM count and 797 postal votes, accounting for 75.94 per cent of the total votes polled.

Pradhan finished second with 41,674 votes, comprising 41,521 EVM votes and 153 postal votes. He secured 19.25 per cent of the total votes polled.

Why the Nandigram bypoll was held

The by-election was necessitated after West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari vacated Nandigram to retain Bhabanipur, where he defeated former chief minister Mamata Banerjee in the 2026 Assembly elections. Adhikari had won both constituencies.

The contest was closely watched as an early electoral test for the BJP government, which ended the Trinamool Congress’s 15-year rule in West Bengal earlier this year.

Hasirani Rath’s candidature draws attention

Rath is the mother of Chandranath Rath, a close aide of Adhikari who was shot dead on May 6, two days after the results of the West Bengal Assembly elections were declared.

The BJP backed Rath in the bypoll as the constituency returned to the polls following Adhikari’s decision to retain Bhabanipur.

Congress gets TMC support after candidate withdraws

The contest also witnessed political realignments within the opposition. The candidate fielded by the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress faction, Sanchita Pradhan Dey, withdrew from the race after meeting Adhikari. Banerjee subsequently extended support to Congress candidate Milan Pradhan.

Pradhan’s campaign was also disrupted by his arrest in September in connection with cases dating back to the 2007 Nandigram agitation. He later secured bail from the Calcutta High Court and returned to the constituency to campaign.

The Congress had alleged irregularities and intimidation during polling and demanded a repoll. The BJP rejected the allegations.

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