Polling is underway on Tuesday for by-elections to six Assembly seats across West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. In West Bengal, political tensions and allegations have emerged from the Nandigram and Rejinagar constituencies.
In Murshidabad, Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) chief and MLA Humayun Kabir was detained by police from his party office. Police have not yet disclosed the reason for the detention.
In Nandigram, Congress candidate Milan Pradhan has alleged that his polling agents were forcibly removed, threatened and had their documents taken away. Amid these allegations, the BJP has claimed that its victory margin in Nandigram could be several times larger than in the previous election.
Amid the electoral contest in the Rejinagar Assembly constituency, AJUP chief Humayun Kabir was detained by police from his party office in Murshidabad. Police have not yet stated the case or reason under which he was detained.
Kabir's son, Golam Nabi Azad, is contesting the Rejinagar seat. Kabir has also raised questions about the polling process, alleging that voting in the area is not being conducted properly and that police are harassing ordinary voters.
He also claimed that Muslim voters have allegedly been harassed for some time. These allegations have not been independently verified.
Congress candidate from Nandigram Milan Pradhan has made allegations during polling. He said every voter should have the right to vote without pressure, but alleged that an atmosphere of fear and pressure had been created in the constituency.
According to Pradhan, his polling agents were allegedly forcibly removed and threatened even before voting began. He also alleged that essential documents belonging to some agents were taken away.
The Congress candidate described the incidents as serious for the electoral process and called for fair polling. A detailed response from the concerned administration and police on the allegations is awaited.
The BJP has claimed a major victory in Nandigram in the by-election. State president Samik Bhattacharya said the BJP could win the seat this time by a margin nearly five times larger than its previous victory margin.
BJP leaders have claimed that the party has b support in the constituency. Regarding Rejinagar, the BJP has also said that the election result could signal a change in the political equations.
Dilip Ghosh, a minister in the Bengal government, also claimed that the BJP was in a b position in Nandigram. He said Nandigram had already been a seat of BJP influence and that the victory margin could increase this time.
The Rejinagar Assembly constituency is witnessing a multi-cornered contest. Candidates from the BJP, Congress, different political factions of the TMC, CPI(M) and Humayun Kabir's AJUP are in the fray.
Rejinagar is a Muslim-majority constituency, and several candidates from the major parties, except BJP candidate Shankarao Sarkar, belong to the Muslim community. The Congress has fielded Mohammed Abdullahil Kafi, the TMC has nominated Rabiul Alam Chowdhury, while AJUP has fielded Golam Nabi Azad, the son of Humayun Kabir.
The role of Muslim voters is considered important in the constituency. This has made the contest between the BJP and opposition parties over electoral strategy significant.
A day before polling in the Nandigram by-election, the Election Commission changed the officer in charge of the local police station. The incumbent officer, Ajay Kumar Mishra, was removed and Debashish Sarkar was appointed as the new officer in charge.
The change followed complaints from opposition parties. The opposition had alleged that the then station-in-charge was close to the ruling side. The Election Commission's action was seen as a step towards ensuring a fair election. However, the parties concerned have made different claims regarding the decision to change the police officer and the allegations associated with it.
A key aspect of West Bengal politics in this by-election is that, after a long period, Mamata Banerjee is neither the chief minister nor an MLA, and is not contesting from any seat.
In the Assembly elections held in May 2026, the TMC was voted out of power and Mamata Banerjee also faced an electoral defeat. There had initially been speculation that Banerjee could contest the Nandigram by-election, but that did not happen.
The TMC's nominated candidate, Sanchita Pradhan, later withdrew her nomination. Following this, Mamata Banerjee took a position in support of Congress candidate Milan Pradhan.
Nandigram has long been a key centre of West Bengal politics. The 2007 anti-land acquisition movement is considered a decisive turning point in the area's politics. The movement played an important role in bringing Mamata Banerjee and the TMC to power in the state.
In 2021, Mamata Banerjee contested from Nandigram but lost to BJP's Suvendu Adhikari. Since then, Nandigram has become a symbol of the political contest between the TMC and BJP. In the 2026 Assembly elections, Suvendu Adhikari contested from both Nandigram and Bhabanipur and won both seats. In Bhabanipur, he defeated Mamata Banerjee by a margin of 15,105 votes.
For the Nandigram by-election, the BJP has fielded the mother of Chandranath Rath, a former associate of Suvendu Adhikari. Chandranath Rath was killed on May 6, 2026. Following the incident, the Nandigram election has become a more sensitive political issue.
Both the Congress and BJP have expressed confidence in their prospects in the constituency. While the TMC's direct electoral presence is weaker, Mamata Banerjee's support for the Congress candidate has given the contest a different political dimension.
The allegations emerging during polling in the two West Bengal constituencies have intensified debate over the fairness of the electoral process. The Congress has alleged that its polling agents were threatened, while Humayun Kabir has accused the police of bias and of harassing voters.
The BJP, meanwhile, has claimed that it will perform better in both Nandigram and Rejinagar. The actual voter turnout and the distribution of votes among the parties will be reflected in the election results, which will determine how the existing political equations in Nandigram and Rejinagar have changed.
