Kolkata:
The BJP on Tuesday named Hasirani Rath, the mother of former aide to West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari who died in May, as its candidate for Nandigram bypoll, and fielded the party’s former Murshidabad district president Sakharav Sarkar from Rejinagar assembly seat.
The nomination of Rath gives the party’s Nandigram campaign an emotive edge, as her son Chandranath Rath was shot dead in North 24 Parganas, days after the BJP swept to power in West Bengal by defeating the TMC.
Chandranath, who had served as Adhikari’s personal assistant, was travelling in a car at Madhyamgram on May 6 when motorcycle-borne assailants allegedly fired at him. He died after being taken to hospital, while the driver was injured.
The case, initially investigated by the state police and a Special Investigation Team, was subsequently handed over to the CBI.
Hasirani Rath’s candidature had been the subject of speculation in Nandigram, and she appeared to confirm it earlier on Tuesday by offering prayers at the Siddheshwar Shiv Temple and Jankinath Temple there before the BJP formally announced her name.
Accompanied by a large procession of party workers and supporters, she is scheduled to file her nomination in Haldia later in the day. Adhikari is also expected to attend the programme.
Hasirani Rath is not a political novice. The BJP nominee said she has been active in politics since 1998 and has served twice as a panchayat member and three times as a panchayat samiti member.
“Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari is the guardian of our family,” she had said, adding that she would discharge any responsibility entrusted to her by the party with sincerity.
After offering prayers at the temples on Tuesday, the BJP candidate said she was happy to have been chosen by the party and expressed confidence of winning the Nandigram assembly seat by a margin of 1.10 lakh votes.
The BJP’s Nandigram strategy thus combines the personal narrative surrounding Chandranath’s killing with the constituency’s larger political symbolism. Adhikari, one of the BJP’s most prominent leaders in the state, had won both Nandigram and Bhabanipur in the 2026 assembly elections before retaining Bhabanipur and vacating Nandigram.
The bypoll was necessitated as Adhikari vacated the seat.
In Rejinagar, the BJP has opted for an organisationally experienced face, as Sarkar is the party’s former Murshidabad district president and current member of its state committee.
The two constituencies are witnessing a multi-cornered contest, with the BJP entering the fray after the Congress, the Left and the two rival TMC factions announced their candidates.
The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC faction has nominated Sanchita Pradhan Dey in Nandigram and former MLA Rabiul Alam Chowdhury in Rejinagar. The rebel TMC faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee has fielded Mohammad Eteshamul Haque and Safiuzzaman Sheikh, respectively.
The Congress has nominated Milan Pradhan in Nandigram and Abdullahil Kafi in Rejinagar, while the Left has fielded CPI’s Shantigopal Giri and CPI(M)’s Syeed Asad Ali.
RSP, which disagreed with the CPI(M) over seat-sharing, is contesting Rejinagar separately with Bikash Chandra Mishra as its nominee.
The Rejinagar contest has another family and political dimension. Aam Janata Unnayan Party founder Humayun Kabir had won both Rejinagar and Nowda in the 2026 assembly polls and subsequently vacated Rejinagar. He has now backed his son Golam Nabi Azad, popularly known as Robin, for the seat.
The bypolls were announced in the backdrop of a dispute over the TMC’s organisational control and election symbol, with the Election Commission expected to take a decision this week on whether either faction will contest under the TMC’s ‘twin flowers on grass’ symbol or be allotted temporary symbols.
The Nandigram and Rejinagar seats will vote on October 6, with September 16 being the last date for filing nominations. Counting will take place on October 9.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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