NEW DELHI: BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari retained his Nandigram stronghold in West Bengal on Monday, as votes were counted for the assembly polls held on April 23 and 29. Adhikari defeated his former aide Pabitra Kar, who contested for the Trinamool Congress, by 9,665 votes.
Election Results 2026
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Adhikari won the iconic 2021 election with 110,764 votes (48%), defeating Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who secured 108,808 votes, by a razor-thin margin of 1,956 votes after recounts. Key issues in Nandigram include land acquisition disputes, irrigation and flood control along the Haldi River for paddy and betel farming, road connectivity between 40 gram panchayats in Nandigram I and II blocks, and drinking water. Demand for health centres, schools, and local jobs post-2007 agitation legacy persist, with Scheduled Caste voters (approximately 15%) playing a key role in reserved dynamics nearby.
Voter turnout hit 88.55% with 2.43 lakh electors. Adhikari flipped the seat from his own AITC wins (2016 margin 81,230; 2011), ending the Left's earlier hold (Abdul Kabir Sekh, CPI, 2006). Symbol of the 2007 anti-land protests that toppled the Left Front, Nandigram remains Bengal's political flashpoint. The constituency falls under Tamluk Lok Sabha, which BJP's Abhijit Gangopadhyay won in 2024 by 77,733 votes. A high-stakes rematch looms in 2026.
Key Highlights
- Suvendu Adhikari wins Nandigram with a margin of 9,665 votes over TMC's Pabitra Kar.
- Voter turnout was 88.55% with 2.43 lakh electors.
- Major issues include land acquisition, irrigation, road connectivity, and drinking water.
- SC voters (approx 15%) are crucial in the reserved constituency dynamics.
- Nandigram remains a symbol of the 2007 anti-land protests that ended Left Front rule.
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