Bypolls 2026: Four regions, six seats and a fresh test for India’s political map
Early trends show BJP candidates widening leads as counting begins, with Congress trailing in both seats and the Election Commission yet to confirm official figures.
- On Friday, October 9, 2026, counting began for by-elections across West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry, with early trends showing the Bharatiya Janata Party leading in Nandigram, Rejinagar, and Nagaon.
- Vacancies occurred after victors in April 2026 Assembly elections chose to retain different seats: Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari retained Bhabanipur, Humayun Kabir kept Naoda, and Chief Minister N Rangasamy retained Mangalam.
- In Nandigram, BJP candidate Hasirani Rath secured 1,64,427 votes against Congress nominee Milan Pradhan, while in Rejinagar, Sakharav Sarkar polled 88,919 votes, defeating Aam Janata Unnayan Party candidate Golam Nabi Azad.
- Elsewhere, BJP's Devasish Sharma achieved a lead of 1,10,629 votes in Nagaon, while the All India NR Congress retained Thattanchavady in Puducherry by a margin of 8,482 votes.
- The counting process continues across 15 rounds under tight security, though opposition parties alleged voter intimidation and booth capturing; the Election Commission described Tuesday's polling as "more or less peaceful.
68 Articles
68 Articles
Bengal bypolls: BJP widens leads in Nandigram, Rejinagar; Congress in second place
Kolkata, Oct 9 (PTI) BJP candidates on Friday widened their leads in Nandigram and Rejinagar seats of West Bengal, where counting of votes was underway for the assembly by-elections, while the Congress emerged as the runner-up in both constituencies, according to early trends. BJP’s Hasirani Rath was leading by 9,600 votes at the end of […]
Counting begins for Bengal bypolls, BJP's first electoral test after coming to power
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 …
By-election results 2026 live: BJP leads in Nandigram, Rejinagar, Nagaon; TVK ahead in Tamil Nadu
By-election results 2026 live updates: The six contests follow a period of political realignment, defections and factional disputes, with turnout figures pointing to strong voter participation across most of the constituencies.
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