Kolkata: In a boost to the BJP government in West Bengal, the party defeated the AJUP in minority-dominated Rejinagar and secured a record-margin victory in Nandigram, a constituency with a sizeable Muslim electorate, in the state assembly bypolls on Friday.
Muslims account for around 65 per cent of voters in Murshidabad district's Rejinagar constituency and approximately 26 per cent of the electorate in Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district. The bypoll results have renewed attention on Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari's efforts to reach out to the community.
BJP candidate Hasirani Rath defeated her nearest rival, Congress's Milan Pradhan, by a margin of 1,22,753 votes in Nandigram. The bypoll was necessitated after Adhikari relinquished the seat, which he had won by 9,665 votes in the Assembly elections. The chief minister has opted to retain the Bhabanipur seat.
In Rejinagar, BJP candidate Shankharavh Sarkar secured 75,816 more votes than Golam Nabi Azad, son of AJUP chief Humayun Kabir. Barely five months earlier, Kabir had won the seat by nearly 59,000 votes over his nearest BJP rival, while also winning Nowda.
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Speaking to reporters on Friday, Adhikari said the Rejinagar bypoll result showed that minority voters were reposing their trust in the BJP government and were not being swayed by what he described as "misleading political narratives".
"Everyone voted for the BJP, irrespective of whether they were Hindu or Muslim. In Rejinagar, women from 35,000 minority families voted for us. We received more votes from the minority community itself. Of the 70 per cent turnout, 60 per cent of the votes were cast by our minority brothers and sisters, rising above divisive politics," he said.
The chief minister attributed the party's performance to public confidence in its governance and development agenda.
"They (minorities) had been told all this while that if the BJP came to power, they would be sent back to Bangladesh or put in detention camps. Over the past five months, they realised the falsity of these claims, and we got their votes. On October 6, I spoke about 'Friendship Day', and they responded to my appeal. I am happy," he added.
The results mark a notable political development in a state where minority voters have traditionally played a crucial role in the electoral fortunes of the Trinamool Congress and other parties opposed to the BJP.
During the bypoll campaign, Adhikari had directly appealed to Muslim voters in Nandigram not to turn their backs on the BJP. He described the October 6 bypoll as an opportunity for them to build a political friendship with his party.
"Let us be friends, you will never get a better opportunity than this to strike a friendship with us," he had told minority voters, promising that the BJP government would work for the welfare of all communities.
He had also urged them to assess the government on development, healthcare, housing, employment and welfare measures rather than through the lens of faith.
As the results came in on Friday, Adhikari took a swipe at Kabir, saying the AJUP leader's sustained attacks on the BJP amounted to political "hara-kiri".
"The remarks Humayun Sahab made against us on social media were opposed by Muslims in large numbers. The minority community voted for us because they want to stand with the government," he said.
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The chief minister assured residents that promised development projects in Rejinagar, including a college, the Narkelbaria bridge, the upgrade of a hospital to a 200-bed facility and industrial development, would be taken up gradually.
He also announced that an Amul factory would be set up in the area to boost the dairy industry.
Adhikari's outreach followed a more confrontational message in September, when he described the bypolls as a "test" for minority voters, asking whether they wanted to cooperate with his government or remain opposed to the BJP.
The contrasting appeals formed a significant part of the BJP's campaign strategy in the two constituencies.
The BJP's victory in Rejinagar came amid a fractured opposition, with the Congress, rival Trinamool Congress factions and the AJUP competing for support.
Nandigram, meanwhile, carries a different political significance. The constituency has been central to West Bengal's recent political history and is associated with Adhikari's rise as a BJP leader.
A political observer said the BJP's performance in both constituencies strengthened Adhikari's claim that his outreach had broadened the party's appeal. However, the observer cautioned that the results could not establish that Muslims had voted overwhelmingly for the BJP, as the Election Commission does not publish election results broken down by voters' religion.
The party's gains could also reflect wider political realignments, opposition fragmentation, and local factors, the observer said. Nevertheless, the results allow the BJP to argue that its support base is expanding beyond its traditional areas of strength, the observer added.
