BJP made surprise gains in Muslim-majority Rejinagar in Murshidabad district, where its candidate Shankharavh Sarkar was leading by 16,550 votes over his nearest rival, Golam Nabi Azad of the Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP), after the second round of counting.
While Sarkar polled 20,415 votes, Azad, the son of AJUP chief Humayun Kabir, secured 3,865 votes.
Hasirani Rath, mother of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari’s slaim personal assistant Chandranath Rath led by over 9.500 votes in Nandigram while infamous Congress candidate Milan Pradhan held on to second place.
Counting began at 8 am amid tight security at the centres. The bypolls, held on Tuesday, are being watched as an early electoral test of West Bengal’s political landscape following the BJP’s victory in the Assembly elections earlier this year.
Nandigram seat in Medinipur fell vacant after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, who won both Nandigram and Bhabanipur, retained the latter. He defeated former CM Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur.
