West Bengal Bypolls: Left Names Nandigram, Rejinagar Picks, TMC Faces Internal Split
Left Front announces Nandigram, Rejinagar bypoll candidates, joining Congress as BJP and TMC remain undecided. Voting is set for October 6, with counting on October 9.
Kolkata: The CPI(M)-led Left Front on Saturday announced its candidates for the October 6 by-elections to Nandigram and Rejinagar assembly constituencies in West Bengal, joining the Congress in entering the electoral fray even as the ruling BJP and the opposition TMC were yet to name their nominees.
The CPI has fielded Shantigopal Giri from Nandigram, the seat vacated by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, while the CPI(M) has nominated Saeed Asad Ali from Rejinagar, which was relinquished by Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) founder Humayun Kabir.
The Left's decision assumes significance in Nandigram, a constituency that has been a political battleground between the BJP and the TMC, and where Adhikari secured a massive victory in the 2026 assembly elections.
Giri had contested the Nandigram seat for the Left in the assembly polls earlier this year and secured only 2,997 votes against Adhikari's 1,27,301 votes.
Adhikari had contested from both Nandigram and Bhabanipur in the assembly elections and won both seats. He subsequently vacated Nandigram and retained Bhabanipur, necessitating the bypoll.
The Congress had on Friday named Mohammed Abdullahil Kafi and Milan Pradhan as its candidates for Rejinagar and Nandigram, respectively.
The nominations were approved by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, according to a party statement.
The Left's return to the contest in Rejinagar also marks a change from the assembly elections, when it did not field a candidate from the seat and instead supported West Bengal Socialist Party nominee Tusharkanti Chattopadhyay, who polled just 748 votes.
The bypoll, therefore, sets up a multi-cornered contest in both constituencies, with the BJP and the TMC yet to announce their candidates.
The stakes are particularly high for the TMC, which is now the principal opposition force in the state but has undergone a three-way split following the assembly elections.
The rival formations are led by camps owing allegiance to Mamata Banerjee and Ritabrata Banerjee, while 20 of the TMC's Lok Sabha MPs have joined the little-known NCPI and extended support to the BJP-led NDA. They have so far maintained silence over the bypolls.
Both the Mamata and Ritabrata camps have indicated that they are considering fielding candidates, adding another layer of intrigue to the contests.
In Nandigram, the question of whether the TMC can field a locally rooted "son-of-the-soil" candidate is being closely watched, particularly given the constituency's long association with Adhikari, who built his political base in the area before moving to the BJP.
The Rejinagar contest, meanwhile, has its own political importance.
Kabir had contested from both Rejinagar and Nowda in the assembly elections and won both seats. After the polls, he vacated Rejinagar, prompting the by-election. He has since fielded his son Ghulam Nabi Azad (Robin) from the constituency.
With the Congress and Left having announced their nominees, attention has now shifted to the BJP and the two principal TMC camps, whose choices could determine the shape of the contests.
The Election Commission has allowed candidates to file their nomination papers till September 16. Polling will be held on October 6, and counting of votes will take place on October 9.
The bypolls are among the first electoral tests for the BJP government headed by Adhikari and for a TMC opposition that is seeking to regroup after its defeat in the 2026 assembly elections.
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)
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