Bengal bypolls: BJP takes commanding lead in Nandigram and Rejinagar after two rounds

Kolkata, Oct 9 (IANS) The BJP took commanding leads in both Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly constituencies in West Bengal after two rounds of counting in the October 6 bypolls. BJP candidates are ahead by over 19,000 votes in Nandigram and 21,000 in Rejinagar.

In Nandigram, BJP’s Hasirani Rath is ahead of Congress’s Milan Pradhan by over 19,200 votes. The CPI candidate, Sanitgopal Giri, is in the third position.

In Rejinagar, BJP candidate Sakharav Sarkar is ahead of Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP)’s Golam Nabi Azad by over 21,000 votes. The Congress candidate Mohammad Abdullahil Kafi, who was in the second position in the initial round of counting, is now relegated to the third position after two rounds of counting.

There will be a total of 15 rounds of counting in both constituencies.

The two factions in the Trinamool Congress, namely former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led Mamata All India Trinamool Congress and Ritabrata Banerjee-led Democratic Trinamool Congress, trail well behind the frontrunners. They are likely to forfeit their deposits in both the constituencies.

While the Mamata All India Trinamool Congress is not in the electoral race in Nandigram, the faction’s candidate, Rabiul Alam Chowdhury, is in sixth in Rejinagar. The Democratic Trinamool Congress candidate Safiuzzaman Sheikh is in the seventh position.

In Nandigram, the Democratic Trinamool Congress candidate Ehtesamul Haque is in the fifth position.

Political observers viewed the Rejinagar trend as particularly significant, as more than 65 per cent of the constituency’s voters belong to the minority community. One political observer linked the trend to Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari’s recent assurance that his government would not pursue community-based development policies.

“This trend shows that even a section of the minority community in West Bengal has decided to stay with the ruling dispensation keeping in mind the recent assurance by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari that the state government-led by him will not pursue community-based development activities,” said a city-based political observer.

However, the Congress candidate from Rejinagar, Mohammad Abdullahil Kafi, said the results were a clear indication of what farcical exercise took place there on October 6. “The trend is exactly what the Chief Minister predicted on Tuesday,” Kafi added.

–IANS

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