No dearth of drama but Opposition seems resigned to Bengal by-poll results

• Nandigram and Rejinagar go to polls amid allegations of voter intimidation, arrests and a demoralised Opposition.

• Congress candidate Milan Pradhan gets interim bail to contest Nandigram; ECI replaces constituency’s police station in-charge a day before polling.

• Rejinagar remains a BJP challenge, with AJUP, TMC and Congress in a contest marked by arrests and political tension.

West Bengal goes to the polls in two Assembly by-elections on Tuesday, 6 October with voter turnout and allegations of intimidation likely to be closely watched amid signs of a demoralised Opposition in both Nandigram and Rejinagar.

In Nandigram, chief minister Suvendu Adhikari won the seat by 1,956 votes in 2021 and by a more comfortable 9,665 votes in 2026, when the BJP swept the state. He subsequently vacated Nandigram after retaining Bhabanipur, triggering the by-poll.

The BJP has fielded Hasirani Rath, mother of Adhikari’s slain personal assistant Chandra Nath Rath, while the Congress is contesting after the TMC-backed candidate withdrew. Chandra Nath Rath’s killing, which is being investigated by the CBI, remains unresolved. Adhikari has repeatedly blamed the TMC, though that allegation remains contested.

Adhikari has also projected confidence about the BJP’s prospects, while he and other party leaders have toned down their earlier rhetoric against Muslims and sought to reach out to the community. The BJP’s pitch is essentially that it is now in power and will remain so for years, making cooperation with the new dispensation worthwhile.

In Rejinagar, the political equation is different. The Muslim-majority seat has never been won by the BJP. Humayun Kabir won it for the Congress in 2011 and again in 2026 on an Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) ticket, but retained Nowda after winning both seats. He has fielded his son, Golam Nabi Azad, in Rejinagar, while the TMC has again fielded Rabiul Alam Choudhury, who won the seat for the Congress in 2016 and the TMC in 2021.

The Opposition has alleged that voter deletions during the special intensive revision (SIR), intimidation and the deployment of central forces have tilted the contest in favour of the BJP. These are political allegations and have not been independently established. The presence of central forces and the role of the state police have nevertheless become major campaign issues.

In Rejinagar, the arrests of Opposition-linked workers have added to the tension. Independent candidate Saiful Islam, associated with AJUP, was arrested in September in a case dating back to a clash during the 2021 Assembly election. Police also arrested AJUP-linked workers in connection with an investigation into alleged inflammatory speeches. Saiful’s arrest came a day after Congress candidate Milan Pradhan was arrested in an old case linked to the Nandigram land-acquisition agitation.

The Opposition also objected to the timing of a returning officer’s notice in Rejinagar. It alleged that a notice dated 1 October was displayed only at 1.00 pm on Sunday, 4 October, giving parties until 4.00 pm to submit details of counting agents. The criticism has also highlighted the Opposition’s own organisational lapses — details of counting agents are a routine electoral requirement and parties would ordinarily be expected to be prepared with them.

Nandigram, meanwhile, has seen its own share of controversy. On Monday, 5 October, the Election Commission of India (ECI) replaced Ajay Kumar Mishra as inspector-in-charge of Nandigram police station, appointing Debashis Sarkar in his place, a day before polling. 

The move came amid allegations surrounding the treatment of Congress candidate Milan Pradhan, who was arrested during the campaign in six cases dating back to 2007. The Calcutta High Court granted him interim bail to enable him to contest the bypoll, noting that the cases were nearly 19 years old and that he had not been arrested after filing his nomination. 

Pradhan alleged that plainclothes policemen had taken him from a hotel, blindfolded him and pressured him to withdraw from the contest. He also alleged that he feared being killed in a fake encounter. The allegations have not been established.

The West Bengal government challenged his interim bail in the Supreme Court. On Monday, however, the Supreme Court adjourned the matter after Justice Joymalya Bagchi recused himself, effectively allowing Pradhan to contest Tuesday’s election. 

West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee president Subhankar Sarkar criticised the state government’s decision to pursue the matter in the Supreme Court, saying taxpayers’ money was being spent on what he called a "witch hunt" against Pradhan.

Nandigram has also witnessed clashes during campaigning. CPI candidate Santigopal Giri alleged that BJP minority-cell functionary Abbas Beg stopped him during door-to-door campaigning in Daudpur, threw him to the ground and assaulted him. Beg has filed a counter-complaint, alleging that Giri and his supporters attacked him with bamboo sticks.

With both constituencies carrying considerable political symbolism, Tuesday’s polling will offer an early indication of how the BJP government’s first months in office are being received — and whether the Opposition can convert its campaign allegations and organisational mobilisation into votes.