BJP Demands Simultaneous West Bengal Bypolls

The Bharatiya Janata Party in West Bengal has formally requested the immediate and concurrent execution of pending by-elections for one parliamentary and two assembly seats. The opposition party emphasizes that prolonged vacancies undermine democratic representation across the state.

The state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party has demanded that the by-election for two Assembly constituencies and one Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal be conducted at the earliest and simultaneously.

The Lok Sabha constituency where the bypoll is pending is at Basirhat in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Trinamool Congress’s Haji Nurul Islam was elected from Basirhat by a margin of over 3.70 lakh votes.

However, following his sudden demise on September 25, 2024, the seat remained vacant, and the bypoll for that Lok Sabha constituency is yet to be conducted.

It is learnt that recently the state BJP president in West Bengal and the party’s Rajya Sabha member, Samik Bhattacharya, visited Basirhat and there he had a meeting with the party’s Basirhat organisational district. In the meeting, party insiders said, Bhattacharya, too, stressed the need for a bypoll in Basirhat along with the bypolls for two Assembly constituencies in the state simultaneously and at the earliest.

Bhattacharya also directed the party’s Basirhat organisational district to start the organisational preparation and selection of candidates.

According to the BJP’s state spokesman, Debjit Sarkar, it has been almost two years since the Basirhat Lok Sabha is vacant. “It is not desirable in a democratic system that a Lok Sabha seat remains without a representative for such a long time. Hence, we want the Election Commission of India to announce the date of the by-election without further delay,” Sarkar added.

The two Assembly constituencies where the bypolls are due are Nandigram in East Midnapore district and Rejinagar in minority-dominated Murshidabad district.

In the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly polls, the new Chief Minister, Suvendu Adhikari, contested simultaneously from Bhabanipur in South Kolkata as well as from Nandigram. He got elected from both Bhabanipur and Nandigram. At Bhabanipur, he defeated his predecessor and former West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, by a margin of over 15,000 votes.

Later, Adhikari retained the Bhabanipur constituency, and hence a bypoll for Nandigram became necessary.

Similarly, Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) founder and former Trinamool Congress legislator, Humayun Kabir, this time contested simultaneously from Naoda and Rejinagar Assembly constituencies, both in Murshidabad district and got elected from both the constituencies. Thereafter, Kabir retained the Naoda constituency, and hence a bypoll for Rejinagar became necessary.

Future Outlook

The impending announcement by the Election Commission of India will test the organizational readiness of both the ruling Trinamool Congress and the resurgent BJP. Political analysts indicate that these simultaneous by-elections will serve as a crucial metric of public sentiment following recent major political realignments. The outcomes in high-profile regions like Nandigram and the minority-dominated Murshidabad district are expected to heavily influence legislative dynamics moving forward.

FAQs

Why is a bypoll required for the Basirhat Lok Sabha seat?

The Basirhat parliamentary seat fell vacant following the unexpected demise of the elected Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament, Haji Nurul Islam, in September 2024.

Why did the Nandigram assembly seat become vacant?

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari won two legislative seats simultaneously. Because he chose to retain his Bhabanipur constituency, he vacated the Nandigram seat, necessitating a fresh by-election.

What is the stance of the BJP regarding these West Bengal elections?

The political party is urging the Election Commission of India to schedule and conduct all three pending by-elections concurrently and without any further delays to restore public representation.