Kolkata: The BJP on Friday swept the West Bengal assembly bypolls, trouncing its rivals by a record margin in politically significant Nandigram and scoring a surprise victory in Muslim-majority Rejinagar, consolidating its position barely five months after ending the TMC’s 15-year rule in the state.
The results offered two contrasting but politically consequential readings of West Bengal’s evolving electoral landscape: the BJP’s consolidation in Nandigram, a constituency key to the state’s political history, and its breakthrough in Rejinagar, where minority votes have traditionally shaped electoral contests.
The scale of the victories also exposed the vulnerabilities of a fragmented opposition, with all candid.
A call to Muslims on a development pitch, the alleged police pressure on Opposition candidates and leaders, a personal campaign by the Chief Minister, and a divided Opposition culminated in a victory in these two seats, which was the first electoral test for both the ruling party and the Opposition in Bengal after the Assembly polls.
The BJP won Nandigram by a record 1.22 lakh votes, maintaining its lead since counting began. The party’s candidate from the seat that Suvendu Adhikari vacated was Hansirani Rath, the mother of the Chief Minister’s aide who was murdered days after the BJP came to power in May. She defeated Congress candidate Milan Pradhan, who finished a distant second. In Rejinagar, Shankharavh Sarkar defeated the Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) by 75,691 votes. The AJUP candidate was Naoda MLA Humayun Kabir’s son Gulam Nabi Azad. Kabir vacated Rejinagar after winning the elections, making the bypoll necessary,
The election marks a decisive breakthrough for the BJP since it shows that in the face of its dominance, a large chunk of minorities have now decided to back it. In the Assembly polls, the minority vote had consolidated mainly behind the Trinamool Congress (TMC) led by Mamata Banerjee. However, the principal Opposition party has since fragmented and was a marginal player in these bypolls. In Nandigram, it backed the Congress after its candidate withdrew from the fight, while in Rejinagar it managed to convince its candidate to stay in the contest hours after he, too, announced his withdrawal.
“The minorities have shown that they are clever. They have sided with development, they have answered Suvendu Adhikari’s call. They have shown that they are with the state government. It is a slap in the face to those who practice communal politics. We were able to make them understand. They want bridges, hospitals and industrial parks,” Shankharavh Sarkar told reporters.
