Bengal bypolls: BJP widens leads in Nandigram, Rejinagar

BJP candidates on Friday widened their leads in Nandigram and Rejinagar seats of West Bengal, where counting of votes was underway for the assembly by-elections, according to EC trends.

BJP made surprise gains in Muslim-majority Rejinagar in Murshidabad district, where its candidate Shankharavh Sarkar was leading by 34,501 votes over his nearest rival, Golam Nabi Azad of the Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP), after the fifth round of counting.

Sarkar polled 48,101 votes, while Azad, the son of AJUP chief Humayun Kabir, secured 13,600 votes.

Mamata All India Trinamool Congress candidate Rabiul Alam Chowdhury was in the third spot with 2,516 votes. Abdullahil Kafi of the Congress slipped to the fourth position with 2,407 votes, according to figures released by the Election Commission on its website.

In Purba Medinipur's Nandigram, BJP candidate Hasirani Rath, the mother of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari's slain personal assistant Chandranath Rath, was leading by 49,922 votes after six rounds of counting.

Rath secured 66,415 votes, while Congress's Milan Pradhan, who trailed in the second spot, bagged 16,493 votes. Santi Gopal Giri of the CPI was in the third place with 2,495 votes. Ali Md Sabe Miraj Khan of All India Secular Front was in the fourth place with 660 votes, followed by Ehteshmul Haque of Democratic Trinamool Congress with 345 votes.

A total of 15 rounds of counting will be held in both the seats.

Counting began at 8 am amid tight security at the counting centres.

The bypolls, held on Tuesday, are being watched as an early electoral test of West Bengal's political landscape following the BJP's victory in the assembly elections earlier this year.

Nandigram fell vacant after Adhikari, who won both Nandigram and Bhabanipur, retained the latter. Rejinagar fell vacant after AJUP founder Humayun Kabir retained Nowda, where he had also won.