Adhikari Calls Bengal Bypolls a 'Test' for Minority Voters

Senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari has described the October 6 Assembly by-elections in Nandigram and Rejinagar as a decisive "test" for minority voters, remarks that have drawn a sharp response from the Trinamool Congress.

Addressing a rally in Haldia, in East Midnapore, Adhikari said the minority community members who do not support the BJP now have an opportunity to decide whether they wish to remain with the government. He told them they would have to take the test on the 6th, and that their tests lay in Rejinagar and Nandigram, adding that it remained to be seen whether they would pass or fail.

Muslims make up roughly 65 per cent of the electorate in Rejinagar, which is in Murshidabad district, and about 26 per cent in Nandigram, in East Midnapore.

During the rally, Adhikari also assured residents that administrative outreach and development services in the constituency would continue without interruption under the BJP's representation. He claimed that nobody could have imagined the BJP winning Nandigram by such a margin, and said he had defeated Mamata Banerjee even across the Ganges.

The bypoll in Nandigram was necessitated after Adhikari vacated the seat, having retained Bhabanipur, where he had defeated the former chief minister. The Rejinagar seat fell vacant after AJUP chief Humayun Kabir, who won from two constituencies, gave it up.

In Nandigram, the BJP's vote share stood at 50.56 per cent. In Rejinagar, the party finished second with 27.02 per cent, losing to Kabir, who secured 51.62 per cent.

The BJP has fielded Hasirani Rath in Nandigram. She is the mother of Chandranath Rath, an aide of Adhikari who was shot dead on May 6, two days after the election results. Sakharav Sarkar is the party's candidate in Rejinagar.

The Trinamool Congress criticised the framing of the contest as a test for minorities, with MP Saugata Roy calling it a threat and condemning it as a reflection of a communal mindset against Muslims. Party MP Dola Sen said the country stands for unity in diversity and urged the head of the administration to uphold that principle, expressing hope that good sense would prevail.

The BJP defended the remarks. Party leader Keya Ghosh said the chief minister's statement was absolutely correct, alleging that the opposition, including the Trinamool, the Left and the Congress, had treated minorities merely as a vote bank, securing their votes for their own gain without delivering development. She said that was why minorities had been urged to vote for development.