Politics
Nandigram bypoll tests BJP's 207 MLA bloc
The Hindu··27 Sept
West Bengal holds bypolls in Nandigram and Rejinagar after elected representatives won from other constituencies this year. The BJP has support from 207 MLAs in the 294-member Assembly. In Nandigram, about 2.5 lakh people live across 17 panchayats, with about 27 percent of the electorate Muslim. Suvendu Adhikari has called the seat a prestige fight.
Prism
What It Means For You
- In 2021 Adhikari defeated Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram by 1,956 votes.
- In 2026 he won Nandigram by about 9,665 votes but chose to represent Bhabanipur.
- The BJP fielded Hasirani Rath, mother of Adhikari's slain personal assistant.
What's Happening
- Trinamool will fight on a footballer symbol rather than its flowers-and-grass insignia.
- Main parties in the fray include BJP, Trinamool, Congress and the Left.
- Nandigram spans coastal Purba Medinipur and became synonymous with political change after 2007.
Nandigram electoral history
- The Hindu notes two constituencies are up for bypolls in the 294-member Assembly.
- About 27 percent of the Nandigram electorate is Muslim across 17 panchayats.
- Rejinagar is the second seat facing a bypoll alongside Nandigram.
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