Strong Turnout In Assam, West Bengal Bypolls; Voting Largely Peaceful

Polling remained largely peaceful in the Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election in Assam and the Nandigram and Rejinagar assembly bypolls in West Bengal on Tuesday, with turnout crossing 70 per cent in all three contests by 3 pm.

In Assam, an estimated 70.25 per cent of the 19.05 lakh electorate in Nagaon had cast their votes by 3 pm, officials said. Voting began at 7 am and is scheduled to continue until 5 pm.

Laharighat recorded the highest turnout at 74.74 per cent, while Nagaon-Batadraba registered the lowest at 61.92 per cent. Turnout was 67.82 per cent in Morigaon, 65 per cent in Raha, 72.04 per cent in Rupahihat, 71.79 per cent in Dhing, 72.38 per cent in Jagiroad and 73.46 per cent in Samagur.

No untoward incident was reported from any of the eight assembly segments, officials said. Of the 2,312 polling stations, 624 were classified as sensitive.

The bypoll was necessitated after Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi resigned and successfully contested the Dispur assembly election on a BJP ticket earlier this year.

Fifteen candidates are in the fray, with the main contest expected among BJP’s Devashis Sharma, Congress nominee Sibamoni Bora and AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal.

Sharma, a former IAS officer and former Nagaon deputy commissioner, and Bora cast their votes during the day. The BJP is seeking to expand its presence in the Muslim-majority constituency, while Congress is seeking to retain the seat and AIUDF is attempting to revive its influence.

In West Bengal, 71.79 per cent of voters in Nandigram and 69.29 per cent in Rejinagar had voted by 3 pm. Polling began at 7 am and will continue until 6 pm.

Officials described voting as mostly peaceful, though a few incidents were reported. The Election Commission has sought a report on the arrest of Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) chief Humayun Kabir following an argument with police during polling in Rejinagar.

Nandigram, with 2.67 lakh electors, has emerged as a closely watched contest. The seat was won by BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari in 2021 after defeating then Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Adhikari won the seat again in the 2026 assembly election but retained Bhabanipur, necessitating the bypoll.

The BJP has fielded Hasirani Rath, while Congress has nominated Milan Pradhan after Mamata Banerjee’s TMC faction backed his candidature. A rival TMC faction has fielded Mohammad Eteshamul Haque, while the CPI has nominated Santigopal Giri.

In Rejinagar, the seat fell vacant after Humayun Kabir, who won both Rejinagar and Nowda in the 2026 assembly election, retained Nowda. His AJUP has fielded his son Golam Nabi Azad.

The other candidates include BJP’s Sakharav Sarkar, TMC’s Rabiul Alam Chowdhury, rival TMC nominee Safiuzzaman Sheikh, Congress’s Mohammad Abdullahil Kafi and CPI(M)’s Syed Asad Ali.

West Bengal officials said 71 companies of central forces had been deployed across the two constituencies. Rejinagar has 315 polling stations and Nandigram 323, with webcasting available at all booths.

The bypolls in both states are being closely watched by the major political parties despite having different electoral stakes. Counting of votes for Nagaon, Nandigram and Rejinagar is scheduled for October 9.