Vote Counting Underway in West Bengal Bypolls with BJP Leading

The counting of votes for the by-elections in West Bengal's Nandigram and Rejinagar has commenced, with BJP candidates currently in the lead. Hasirani Rath is ahead in Nandigram, while Sakharav Sarkar leads in Rejinagar. The trends are significant, especially in Rejinagar, a constituency with a majority Muslim voter base. The final results are expected shortly as counting progresses through postal and EVM ballots. This election follows a recent assembly election where Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari won from both Nandigram and Bhabanipur, leading to the need for these bypolls.

By Narendra Chaudhary Oct 9, 2026, 11:34 IST

Vote Counting Commences in Nandigram and Rejinagar

Photo: IANS

Kolkata, Oct 9: The counting of votes for the by-elections in the Nandigram Assembly Constituency of East Midnapore and Rejinagar in Murshidabad commenced on Friday, with candidates from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) currently in the lead for both seats.

In Nandigram, BJP's Hasirani Rath is ahead of Congress's Milan Pradhan. Notably, the All India Trinamool Congress, led by former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, is not contesting in Nandigram.

Hasirani Rath is the mother of Chandranath Rath, who was the former personal assistant to Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and was tragically killed in Madhyamgram on May 6.

Meanwhile, in Rejinagar, BJP candidate Sakharav Sarkar is leading against Congress's Mohammad Abdullahil Kafi, with Sarkar currently ahead by approximately 6,000 votes.

This trend in Rejinagar is particularly noteworthy given that over 65% of the constituency's voters belong to the Muslim community.

The polling took place on October 6, and as the report was being prepared, counting of postal ballots was ongoing, followed by the counting of EVM votes.

Counting began at 8 a.m., with a total of 15 rounds scheduled for each constituency. The final results are anticipated to be available between noon and 1 p.m.

In the recent West Bengal Assembly elections, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari was elected from both Nandigram and Bhabanipur. He won Bhabanipur by a margin exceeding 15,000 votes against Mamata Banerjee.

Adhikari chose to retain the Bhabanipur seat, leading to the need for a bypoll in Nandigram.

Additionally, former Trinamool Congress member Humayun Kabir was elected as an AJUP candidate from Naoda and Rejinagar, later opting to keep the Naoda seat, which resulted in the Rejinagar bypoll.