NANDIGRAM’S BYPOLL UPSET BECOMES BJP’S LANDSLIDE AS OPPOSITION CRIES FOUL

October 10, 2026

The Bharatiya Janata Party has retained the Nandigram Assembly constituency in West Bengal with a commanding margin of 1.22 lakh votes in the October 6 bypoll, turning a seat previously won by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari by fewer than 10,000 votes into a sweeping electoral victory for the ruling party. The result has triggered allegations of vote-rigging from the opposition and renewed claims by the BJP that it is making significant inroads among minority voters.

BJP candidate Hasi Rani Rath secured 1,64,427 votes, defeating Congress candidate Milan Pradhan, who received 41,674 votes. CPI candidate Shanti Gopal Giri finished third with 5,779 votes. The Trinamool Congress did not field a candidate in the bypoll, creating an opportunity for the Congress to improve its electoral performance after receiving fewer than 1,000 votes in the constituency during the May Assembly elections.

The seat fell vacant after Adhikari resigned from Nandigram while retaining Bhabanipur following his election as West Bengal’s first BJP chief minister. In the 2026 Assembly elections, Adhikari had defeated his nearest rival in Nandigram by a margin of 9,665 votes. The latest result has therefore represented a dramatic expansion of the BJP’s vote tally in the constituency.

Rath’s victory also carries a personal dimension. She is the mother of Chandranath Rath, Adhikari’s personal assistant who was shot dead shortly after the Assembly elections. Her decisive victory has strengthened the BJP’s political position in a constituency that has long occupied a prominent place in Bengal’s electoral battles.

Adhikari credited the result to voters responding to his appeal to support the BJP’s development agenda. He claimed that minority voters had rejected what he described as anti-BJP propaganda spread by the Trinamool Congress and the Left. In a constituency where minorities account for approximately 28 per cent of voters, the chief minister asserted that the BJP had received around 80 per cent of minority votes in Nandigram and approximately 60 per cent in Rejinagar, where the party also registered a major victory.

Adhikari further argued that beneficiaries of the government’s Annapurna Yojana had contributed significantly to the BJP’s success. He said that most of the 70,300 beneficiaries in Nandigram, along with their family members, had voted for his party. The BJP has presented the outcome as evidence that welfare initiatives and its political messaging are attracting voters beyond its traditional support base.

The opposition, however, sharply disputed the legitimacy of the result. Congress and CPI(M) leaders described the outcome as a “black day” for democracy and accused the BJP of winning through alleged electoral manipulation. These allegations have not been established as proven findings.

Congress candidate Milan Pradhan also alleged that party workers were assaulted after the results were declared. Congress polling agent Soumen Samanta appeared wearing a blood-covered T-shirt and claimed that BJP workers had attacked him while celebrating their candidate’s victory. Pradhan accused the BJP of both manipulating the electoral process and targeting opposition workers after the count.

The competing accounts have placed Nandigram at the centre of a wider political dispute over electoral integrity, minority voting patterns and the changing balance of power in West Bengal. While the BJP has celebrated its overwhelming victory as a mandate for development and evidence of expanding support among Muslims, the Congress and CPI(M) have questioned the circumstances surrounding the result and alleged post-poll violence.

The scale of the BJP’s victory marks a significant moment in the political contest over Nandigram, transforming a previously competitive constituency into one where the ruling party has secured an overwhelming margin. The resulting controversy is likely to intensify the broader debate over the credibility of elections, the protection of opposition workers and the political forces reshaping West Bengal.