Kolkata, Oct 09: Counting of votes began at 8 am on Friday for the Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly bypolls, the first electoral test for the BJP since it came to power in West Bengal in May this year.
The counting started amid tight security arrangements at the designated centres in both constituencies, with officials first taking up postal ballots and Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballots before proceeding with the EVM votes.
The counting at both seats is taking place in two halls and is scheduled to be completed in 15 rounds, with separate halls earmarked for postal ballots and ETPB votes.
The results will not have any impact on the government, as the BJP has won 207 seats out of the total of 294.
The two constituencies witnessed a high turnout of around 80 per cent on Tuesday, with Nandigram recording 80.89 per cent polling and Rejinagar 80.08 per cent.
The Election Commission had described Tuesday’s polling as “more or less peaceful”.
Opposition parties, however, alleged voter intimidation, booth-level irregularities and the removal of their polling agents from booths and demanded fresh polling.
The BJP rejected the allegations and maintained that the polling was peaceful.
The arrest of Aam Janata Unnayan Party chief Humayun Kabir following a confrontation with police in Rejinagar was among the major flashpoints during the polling.
The by-election was required as Kabir vacated the seat and retained Nowda.
The results are being keenly watched for the BJP’s performance after replacing the 15-year-old Trinamool Congress regime as the ruling party following the 2026 Assembly elections, as well as the shape of the opposition space amid a split in the TMC and the presence of multiple political formations.
In Nandigram, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had defeated TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee in 2021 and won the seat again in the 2026 Assembly polls before retaining Bhabanipur, necessitating the bypoll.
The BJP has fielded Hasirani Rath, while Congress nominee Milan Pradhan is backed by the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC faction after its candidate withdrew. A rival TMC faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee is also in the fray.
In Rejinagar, the contest is between BJP’s Sakharav Sarkar, Mamata-led TMC candidate Rabiul Alam Chowdhury, rival TMC nominee Safiuzzaman Sheikh, Congress’ Mohammad Abdullahil Kafi, CPI(M)’s Syed Asad Ali and AJUP candidate Golam Nabi Azad, son of party chief Humayun Kabir. ( PTI )
