BJP Wins West Bengal By-Elections and Gujarat Civic Polls

The Bharatiya Janata Party achieved significant electoral gains across two states in October 2026. In West Bengal, the party won by-elections in the Nandigram and Rejinagar constituencies on October 9. Hashirani Rath won Nandigram by over 115,000 votes, while Sakharov Sarkar secured Rejinagar by 72,710 votes. These victories are attributed to Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari's outreach to Muslim voters, particularly in Rejinagar, which has a 70 percent Muslim population.

While the BJP strengthened its state Assembly majority, the West Bengal polls were marked by instability following a split in the Trinamool Congress. Former state Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury alleged that "silent terror was unleashed on the polling day," though no violence was reported.

Simultaneously, the BJP dominated civic elections in Gujarat. In the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation polls held on October 11, the party won 38 of 44 seats, though this was a slight decrease from its 2021 tally. The Indian National Congress saw a modest recovery in Gandhinagar, increasing its representation to five seats. The Aam Aadmi Party lost its only seat in the capital but captured a seat in the Devbhumi Dwarka district panchayat.

Further Gujarat results showed the BJP retaining power in the Okha municipality with 33 seats and the Thara municipality with 19 seats. The party also won local body by-elections in Chhota Udepur, Kheralu, and Bayad.