Kolkata, Oct 5 (PTI) As Nandigram and Rejinagar vote on Tuesday, the two bypolls in West Bengal carry significance far beyond the seats at stake — offering the BJP its first electoral test since ending the TMC’s 15-year rule and opening a battle over which opposition party can emerge as its principal challenger.
The contests will give the BJP an early reading of voter response to its governance since taking office in May, while opposition parties vie for space in a fragmented field, with the ruling party and its rivals also seeking to gauge the minority electorate’s voting preferences.
Polling in both constituencies is scheduled for October 6, with counting on October 9.
Political analyst Biswanath Chakraborty said the contests are significant because the BJP’s emergence as the ruling party had created a new political vacuum for the opposition. “The main issue is who occupies the opposition space against the BJP. The bypolls will give us an indication of which party has the potential to emerge as the principal challenger,” he said.
The BJP swept to power in May after 15 years of TMC rule, and these are the first elections since that change. The bypolls cannot be a verdict on the performance of a four-month-old administration, but could provide early clues to public response to its governance and policy choices.
Nandigram offers the more symbolically charged contest.
The seat was the epicentre of Mamata Banerjee’s anti-land acquisition movement that helped pave the way for the TMC’s rise in 2011. It was also where BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari defeated Banerjee in 2021. Adhikari, now chief minister, won Nandigram again in the 2026 Assembly election but retained Bhabanipur, necessitating the bypoll.
The BJP has fielded Hasirani Rath, mother of Chandranath Rath, a former aide of Adhikari. Chandranath was shot dead on May 6, two days after the BJP won the assembly elections. Hasirani’s candidature has added an emotional dimension to the contest.
The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC faction’s nominee Sanchita Pradhan Dey withdrew her name after meeting Adhikari, following which Banerjee, left without a candidate, backed Congress candidate Milan Pradhan and described the move as an effort to strengthen the INDIA bloc.
Pradhan was arrested in old cases linked to the 2007 Nandigram land-acquisition agitation but later secured interim bail and returned to campaign.
The rival TMC faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee has fielded Mohammad Eteshamul Haque under the envelope symbol and a separate temporary party identity. The CPI has nominated Santigopal Giri.
Nandigram has thus become a test of tactical cooperation, with the Mamata Banerjee faction seeking to transfer support to Congress while the BJP hopes to retain its Assembly advantage.
Rejinagar presents a different political equation.
The seat fell vacant after Humayun Kabir, who won both Rejinagar and Nowda in the 2026 Assembly election, retained Nowda. His Aam Janata Unnayan Party has fielded his son Golam Nabi Azad. Kabir had won Rejinagar by nearly 59,000 votes.
The contest includes BJP nominee Sakharav Sarkar, former Murshidabad district president, 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 RSP withdrew Bikash Chandra Mishra after objecting to the Election Commission’s decision to allot it the bucket symbol instead of its traditional spade-and-shovel symbol. AJUP too objected after its whistle symbol was replaced with the table.
The Mamata faction faced uncertainty after Chowdhury announced his withdrawal, citing pressure on workers and difficulties campaigning under a new identity, before reversing the decision after discussions with the party supremo.
If Nandigram tests tactical cooperation, Rejinagar tests fragmentation and organisational resilience.
For Congress, the seats present contrasting situations: Banerjee’s backing in Nandigram and an independent fight in Rejinagar. The results could feed the debate over rebuilding independently or pursuing tactical understandings with anti-BJP forces, including the TMC, which has wiped out Congress’ organisation during its 15-year rule.
Congress leader Pradip Bhattacharya has argued that the party must reclaim space lost to the TMC, while Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has stressed rebuilding the organisation.
For the Mamata faction, Rejinagar is a test of whether it can retain traction without the familiar TMC name and symbol, while the rival faction seeks its political inheritance.
The BJP is seeking to broaden its appeal, particularly in Rejinagar, which has a substantial minority electorate. Adhikari has framed the bypolls as a test of whether minority voters back its development agenda. The BJP said it does not view the contests through a religious lens.
The seat’s minority electorate also gives the BJP an opportunity to test whether its appeal can extend beyond the traditional support base.
Analyst Subhomoy Moitra said, “It is too early to call this a referendum on the BJP government, but these are the first elections after the change of regime and therefore provide an initial electoral reading of its performance and political appeal.”
Banerjee broke from the Congress in 1998 to build the TMC, which rode the Nandigram and Singur anti-land acquisition movement to end the Left Front’s 34-year rule in 2011. Fifteen years later, the BJP is in government, the TMC has split, and rival factions are contesting without its familiar identity and symbol.
That transformation gives the October 6 vote significance beyond the two seats, offering the first electoral snapshot of Bengal’s new political order since the BJP replaced the TMC in power.
The verdict will be watched for three signals: whether the BJP’s electoral momentum has survived the transition from opposition benches to government, which party can emerge as its principal challenger, and whether the TMC’s fractured inheritance can still translate into votes. It offers two seats, three questions and potentially the first clue to who occupies Bengal’s new political landscape.
