BJP Wins Nandigram and Rejinagar Bypolls; TVK Takes Both Tamil Nadu Seats

Counting on Friday, 9 October 2026, produced clear results in six by-elections held on 6 October. In West Bengal the Bharatiya Janata Party retained Nandigram and won Rejinagar. In Tamil Nadu the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam took both seats. The All India N.R. Congress held Thattanchavady in Puducherry. In Assam the BJP won the Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election.

In Nandigram, BJP candidate Hasirani Rath secured 164,427 votes and defeated Congress candidate Milan Pradhan by a margin of 122,753 votes. Rath is the mother of Chandranath Rath, the personal assistant of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari who was killed days after the BJP formed the government in May. The seat had been vacated when Adhikari, who won it in the 2026 assembly elections, chose to retain Bhabanipur. Other candidates, including those of the Left and a rebel Trinamool faction, lost their deposits.

In Rejinagar, Murshidabad district, BJP candidate Shankharavh Sarkar received 129,914 votes and defeated Aam Janata Unnayan Party candidate Golam Nabi Azad by about 75,800 votes. The constituency has a large Muslim electorate. The result is the BJP’s first major test in West Bengal since it ended the Trinamool Congress’s 15-year rule in May.

In Tamil Nadu, TVK candidates won Madurantakam and Dharapuram. The party, led by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, thereby added to its assembly strength following its May victory. In Puducherry, AINRC’s Ashok Anand retained Thattanchavady. In Assam, BJP candidate Devasish Sharma won the Nagaon Lok Sabha seat, defeating AIUDF candidate Mohammed Badruddin Ajmal; Congress finished third.

The by-elections supply an early measure of support after the recent assembly polls in several of these regions. The margins in Nandigram and Rejinagar are large by the standards of recent Bengal contests. The TVK double in Tamil Nadu confirms the new party’s ability to hold or expand its position in the seats it contested. The Assam parliamentary result shifts a seat previously held by rivals into the BJP column.

Official figures come from the Election Commission and state counting reports published on 9 October. The political consequence is a reinforcement of the ruling parties’ positions in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Assam, with the Nandigram and Rejinagar outcomes drawing the most attention because of the constituencies’ recent history and demographic composition.