Nandigram voted on October 6 in a bypoll that has become one of West Bengal’s most watched contests. Here is why it matters.

The seat fell vacant after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari gave it up. He had won both Nandigram and Bhabanipur in the 2026 assembly election and chose to keep Bhabanipur.

In a twist, Mamata Banerjee’s TMC faction withdrew its candidate, Sanchita Pradhan Dey, and Mamata announced support for the Congress candidate, Milan Pradhan, calling it a decision in the “greater interest of the nation”.

The BJP fielded Hasirani Rath, mother of the late Chandranath Rath — Adhikari’s former personal assistant who was assassinated in May. The CPI and Ritabrata Banerjee’s Democratic TMC are also in the fray, making it four-cornered.

With 71 paramilitary companies deployed and counting on October 9, the result will test the new political alignments in Bengal — and Adhikari’s hold over the seat that made him.