The BJP on Friday swept the West Bengal Assembly bypolls, defeating its rivals by a record margin in politically significant Nandigram and registering an unexpected victory in Muslim-majority Rejinagar, five months after ending the Trinamool Congress's 15-year rule in the state.
The results presented two contrasting developments in West Bengal's electoral landscape: the BJP's consolidation in Nandigram, a constituency central to the state's political history, and its breakthrough in Rejinagar, where minority voters have traditionally played a decisive role in electoral contests.
The scale of the victories also highlighted the fragmented state of the opposition, with all candidates except the runners-up in both constituencies forfeiting their security deposits.
Record victory in Nandigram
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 figures attributed to the Election Commission.
Rath secured 1,64,427 votes against Pradhan's 41,674, surpassing Adhikari's 9,665-vote victory margin in the 2026 Assembly elections. Adhikari had subsequently retained Bhabanipur, necessitating the bypoll in Nandigram.
Rath's candidature carried an emotional dimension following the murder of her son in Madhyamgram, on the outskirts of Kolkata, on May 6, just two days after the BJP won the Assembly elections.
Nandigram has occupied a prominent place in West Bengal politics since the anti-land acquisition movement helped propel the TMC to power in 2011, ending the Left Front's 34-year rule. The constituency later witnessed one of the state's most closely watched electoral contests in 2021, when Adhikari defeated Mamata Banerjee.
The opposition's electoral strategy also came under scrutiny after Mamata All India Trinamool Congress candidate Sanchita Pradhan Dey withdrew from the contest following a meeting with Adhikari. Banerjee subsequently supported Congress candidate Pradhan in an apparent attempt to prevent a division of anti-BJP votes, but the Congress nominee finished a distant second.
Breakthrough in Rejinagar
In Rejinagar, a Muslim-majority constituency in Murshidabad district, BJP 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 approximately 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 received 3,847. The CPI(M) polled 3,797 votes, while Safiuzzaman Saikh of the breakaway Democratic Trinamool Congress secured 2,044.
Rejinagar, where Muslims account for nearly 70 per cent of the electorate, has traditionally witnessed contests involving the TMC, Congress and regional political formations.
The result marked a reversal from the 2026 Assembly elections, when AJUP founder Humayun Kabir won Rejinagar by more than 58,000 votes while also securing Nowda. His son, Golam Nabi Azad, entered the bypoll after Kabir vacated Rejinagar to retain Nowda.
Kabir, a former TMC leader expelled following a controversy over his proposal for a Babri Masjid-style mosque in Murshidabad, subsequently established the AJUP, introducing another political formation into the district's electoral contest.
With 15 candidates in the fray, the division of votes among opposition parties may have contributed to the BJP's victory. However, the constituency-level result does not establish how individual religious communities voted or the precise reasons behind the change in electoral preferences.
Adhikari claims minority support
Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari expressed confidence that the BJP would win both constituencies, claiming that Bengali Muslim voters had supported the party.
"Nationalist forces are all set to win both the seats. Bengali Muslim voters have supported the BJP in both the seats," he told reporters.
BJP leaders characterised the results as an endorsement of their government's development agenda and outreach to different communities. The Rejinagar outcome has drawn particular attention because of the constituency's Muslim-majority electorate, although voting patterns by religion cannot be established from the aggregate results alone.
The performance of the breakaway Trinamool factions also raised questions about their ability to establish independent electoral bases. Their candidates finished well behind the leading contenders in both constituencies, despite attempts to present themselves as alternatives to the BJP and other opposition parties.
For the BJP, the two victories represent an early electoral test following its return to power in West Bengal under Adhikari. While Nandigram reaffirmed the party's position in a constituency closely associated with the Chief Minister, Rejinagar demonstrated that electoral competition in minority-dominated constituencies could produce results different from those witnessed in the Assembly elections earlier this year.
The results have also left opposition parties confronting questions over candidate selection, organisational strength and their inability to coordinate effectively against the ruling party.