The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Shankharavh Sarkar on Friday (October 9) won the Rejinagar Assembly bypoll in West Bengal, defeating Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) candidate Golam Nabi Azad alias Robin by 75,816 votes. Sarkar secured 1,29,914 votes, accounting for 63.14 per cent of the votes polled, while Azad received 54,098 votes (26.29 per cent).
Congress candidate Abdullahil Kafi finished third with 6,168 votes (3 per cent), followed by Trinamool Congress (TMC) nominee Rabiul Alam Chowdhury, who received 3,847 votes (1.87 per cent). Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidate Md Sayeed secured 3,797 votes (1.85 per cent), while Democratic Trinamool Congress candidate Saifuzzaman Saikh received 2,044 votes (0.99 per cent).
The counting was completed in 15 rounds.
BJP secures Muslim-majority seat
Rejinagar, located in West Bengal's Murshidabad district, is part of the Baharampur Lok Sabha constituency and has 2,57,657 registered electors. Around 70 per cent of its electorate is Muslim, making the result particularly notable against the backdrop of the contest among the BJP, the TMC, the Congress and regional political formations.
In the previous Assembly election, former TMC leader Humayun Kabir won Rejinagar by more than 58,000 votes against BJP candidate Bapan Ghosh. Kabir also won the Nowda seat. The bypoll was necessitated after Kabir vacated Rejinagar.
Kabir was expelled from the TMC following a controversy over his proposal to build a Babri Masjid-style mosque in Murshidabad. He subsequently founded the AJUP, reshaping the political contest in the constituency.
His party, the AJUP, fielded his son, Golam Nabi Azad, while the BJP nominated its former Murshidabad district president, Shankharavh Sarkar. The TMC fielded Rabiul Alam Chowdhury, while the Congress nominated Mohammad Abdullahil Kafi and the CPI(M) fielded Syed Asad Ali.
Polling for the Rejinagar Assembly bypoll was held on October 6, with the constituency recording a voter turnout of 78.42 per cent.
What does BJP's Rejinagar win mean?
The BJP's victory marks a sharp contrast with the previous Assembly election, when Kabir won the seat by more than 58,000 votes. The result has brought the electoral contest in the Muslim-majority constituency into focus, particularly given the presence of multiple opposition parties.
With around 70 per cent of its electorate being Muslim, the constituency in Murshidabad has traditionally been viewed through the prism of competition among the Congress, the TMC and regional political formations.
The BJP's performance has consequently placed the spotlight on whether a divided opposition and a crowded field have altered Rejinagar's electoral arithmetic. With 15 candidates in the fray, the presence of several competing formations may have contributed to the BJP's advantage.
Also Read
Nandigram Bypoll Result: BJP's Hasi Rani Rath wins with 75% votes, defeats Congress' Milan Pradhan
