West Bengal bypolls: BJP's Hasi Rani Rath wins Nandigram
What's the story
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has registered a massive victory in the West Bengal by-elections. Hasi Rani Rath, the BJP candidate for the Nandigram bypoll, won by over 1.2 lakh votes. This victory is the largest margin since 1967 and surpasses Suvendu Adhikari's previous record of 81,230 votes in 2016.
Political significance
Rath's win further strengthens BJP's grip on Nandigram
Rath's win has further strengthened BJP's grip on Nandigram, a constituency that has been a political battleground since Adhikari first defeated Mamata Banerjee in the 2021 Assembly elections.
Adhikari had vacated the seat after winning from both Nandigram and Bhabanipur. The by-election was necessitated after he chose to retain Bhabanipur.
Election update
BJP snaps Rejinagar as well
The BJP also won in the Rejinagar bypoll, with Shankaravh Sarkar cementing his victory by over 75,816 votes.
Adhikari attributed this to minority support for the BJP.
In Rejinagar, 70% of the electorate belongs to the minority community, whereas in Nandigram, this percentage is only 27%.
He said minorities in Nandigram have backed their movement and thanked those who benefited from the Annapurna Yojana.
Victory celebration
Adhikari congratulates Rath on historic victory
Rath is the mother of Chandranath Rath, an aide of Adhikari who was shot dead in May.
Adhikari congratulated Rath on her historic and record-breaking victory on X.
"I had told everyone while I was on the campaign trail in Nandigram that she (Rath) will win there by a margin that will surpass my margin of 82,000 votes," Adhikari said on Friday.
He said it reflected voters' faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's development agenda and the BJP's central leadership.