56.35% Turnout In Nagaon, 58.37% In West Bengal Bypolls Till 1 PM
Nagaon records 56.35% polling, while Nandigram and Rejinagar together register 58.37% turnout
Voter turnout remained strong in bypolls held in Assam and West Bengal on Tuesday, with 56.35 per cent polling recorded in the Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency in Assam and 58.37 per cent in the Nandigram and Rejinagar assembly seats in West Bengal till 1 pm.
In Assam, over 56.35 per cent of the 19.05 lakh eligible voters had exercised their franchise in the Nagaon Lok Sabha bypoll by 1 pm. Polling began at 7 am and will continue till 5 pm. An official said voting was peaceful across all eight assembly segments under the constituency, with no untoward incident reported.
Laharighat recorded the highest turnout at 61.48 per cent, while Nagaon-Batadraba registered the lowest at 47.07 per cent. The bypoll was necessitated after Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi resigned and subsequently contested the Dispur assembly election on a BJP ticket earlier this year.
BJP candidate Devashis Sharma, a former IAS officer, and Congress nominee and former MLA Sibamoni Bora cast their votes in their respective constituencies. Fifteen candidates are in the fray, with the main contest expected to be among Sharma, Bora and AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal.
The constituency has 19.05 lakh voters, including 9.43 lakh women and 50 third-gender electors, voting at 2,312 polling stations. Of these, 624 have been identified as sensitive. Counting is scheduled for October 9.
In West Bengal, the combined turnout in the Nandigram and Rejinagar assembly bypolls stood at 58.37 per cent till 1 pm. Nandigram recorded 60.32 per cent polling, while Rejinagar registered 56.43 per cent.
Polling began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm. An election official described voting as largely peaceful, with adequate central forces deployed in both constituencies.
The Election Commission has sought a report from the district election office regarding the arrest of Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) chief Humayun Kabir following an argument with police during polling in Rejinagar.
Nandigram, in Purba Medinipur, has major political significance as the epicentre of the anti-land acquisition movement associated with former chief minister Mamata Banerjee. BJP's Suvendu Adhikari defeated Banerjee from the seat in 2021 and won it again in the 2026 assembly election, but retained Bhabanipur, necessitating the bypoll.
The BJP has fielded Hasirani Rath, mother of former Adhikari aide Chandranath Rath, who was shot dead on May 6. Congress candidate Milan Pradhan has been backed by Banerjee after the TMC's nominee Sanchita Pradhan Dey withdrew from the contest.
The rival TMC faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee has fielded Mohammad Eteshamul Haque, while the CPI has nominated Santigopal Giri.
In Rejinagar, the bypoll was necessitated after Humayun Kabir, who had won both Rejinagar and Nowda in the assembly election, retained Nowda. His AJUP has fielded his son Golam Nabi Azad.
Azad is contesting against BJP nominee Sakharav Sarkar, TMC candidate Rabiul Alam Chowdhury, rival TMC candidate Safiuzzaman Sheikh, Congress nominee Mohammad Abdullahil Kafi and CPI(M)'s Syed Asad Ali.
