Muslim voters turned away in West Bengal bye-poll, opposition alleges rigging for BJP

Opposition parties have accused the administration of widespread attempts to rig Tuesday’s Assembly bye-election in West Bengal in favour of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alleging that Muslim voters were prevented from voting, Opposition workers were intimidated and journalists were restricted from reporting on the election.

In Rejinagar, where the bye-election was held, Scroll reported witnessing police turn away Muslim voters from polling stations, intimidate Opposition workers and restrict independent journalists.

Harshal Pancholi, an Indian Administrative Service officer serving as the Election Commission’s general observer in Rejinagar, rejected the allegations and said the bye-poll was “free and fair”.

Pancholi said he had examined “video evidence” after political parties alleged that some polling booths had been captured and was satisfied with the conduct of voting.

Asked by Scroll about specific polling stations where voters allegedly had been turned away, Pancholi said he would examine the claims. “I will go into the details and cross-check what you have shared,” he said, adding that officials were working to ensure an election “without any fear”.

Muslim voters turned away

At the Teghari Primary School polling station in Nazirpur village, voting appeared to be proceeding normally when Scroll visited at around 9am. Several Muslim women were waiting in line, but few new voters were joining the queue.

A commotion soon broke out on a road near the school as some people appeared to force Muslim men heading towards the polling station to turn back. Police and paramilitary personnel stationed nearby watched the incident.

One villager who spoke to Scroll said police had warned voters against speaking to journalists. A police vehicle arrived before the journalists could speak to others, and an officer ordered them to disperse.

About 12 km away, in Maradighi village, more than a dozen residents alleged that they had been prevented from voting because polling booths had been captured. They requested anonymity, citing fears of retaliation.

An elderly Muslim woman said several villagers were driven away when they went to vote in the morning and that police officers abused them.

Another resident alleged that people were not being allowed to vote and that the incidents took place in front of police personnel.

A young Muslim resident said police told him at his polling station that his vote had already been cast.

“Voting began last night itself,” he alleged, adding that there were no polling agents representing Opposition parties and that all the agents were from the BJP.

While some residents alleged that police had physically prevented them from voting, others said they chose not to vote because they feared violence.

Hari Lal Chouhan, the Indian Police Service officer appointed by the Election Commission as police observer for Rejinagar, did not respond to Scroll’s calls during the day.

Opposition workers accuse police of intimidation

Muslims account for an estimated 60%-70% of Rejinagar’s population, according to the 2011 census and estimates by local politicians. Opposition candidates have argued that the BJP would struggle to win the constituency without the alleged misuse of state machinery, given the historically low support for the Hindutva party among Muslim voters in West Bengal.

The seat was won in the 2026 Assembly election by Humayun Kabir, whose plan to build a replica of the Babri Masjid in the constituency has gained popularity among sections of the Muslim-majority Murshidabad district. Kabir also won the Nowda Assembly seat and retained it, necessitating the Rejinagar bye-election.

His Aam Janata Unnayan Party fielded his son, Golam Nabi Azad, in Rejinagar.

Kabir and his son have accused the BJP and police of obstructing their campaign, despite previous allegations that Kabir was working with the BJP to weaken the Trinamool Congress.

On the eve of the election, Kabir told reporters that 64 of his party workers had been detained in the run-up to the bye-poll. Police detained Kabir himself the following morning after a confrontation with officers.

“It’s like all of them became criminals overnight,” Azad said, alleging that police had been entering the homes of party workers at night and detaining them in old cases.

Candidates from other Opposition parties also made similar allegations.

Mohammed Sayeed, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidate, said one of his polling agents, Tafazul Sheikh, was detained shortly before voting began.

Sayeed alleged that the detention was part of a weeks-long police campaign against Opposition workers and claimed that people who agreed to join the BJP were released.

Badal Molla, 48, who heads the Mamata Banerjee-led faction of the Trinamool Congress in Andulberia II gram panchayat, said he had selected polling agents for 13 booths in his area.

Molla said he had been in contact with all of them until 8.30am, after which their phones were switched off. He alleged that their identification papers had been taken away and that they had been ordered to leave.

Molla acknowledged that booth rigging had also occurred during the 15 years his party was in power, but said the scale was unprecedented.

“It used to happen in one or two booths of a gram panchayat,” he said. “But not like this. I’m hearing the same story from every booth today.”

Molla also alleged that former Trinamool workers who had joined the BJP were working with police to intimidate Opposition workers.

Shankharavh Sarkar, the BJP candidate, could not be reached for comment. BJP workers had earlier expressed confidence about winning the constituency, saying that former workers of other parties were now supporting the BJP, including in Muslim-majority areas.

Local journalists accuse authorities of restricting coverage

Opposition allegations were accompanied by complaints from local journalists that their social media pages had been blocked in the week before the bye-election.

Alt News reported that at least a dozen accounts had been restricted, while local journalists said the number was considerably higher. Many of the accounts were restored only after polling ended on Tuesday.

The affected journalists alleged that the restrictions were intended to prevent independent coverage of alleged police action against Opposition workers.

Swapan Karikar, whose Murshidabad Today Facebook page has nearly 750,000 followers, said the page was blocked on September 29. Before the restriction, he said, he had received takedown notifications for videos covering police detentions of Aam Janata Unnayan Party workers during late-night operations.

Baktar Sheikh, who runs Murshidabad News Time, said his page, which has more than 370,000 followers, was also blocked. He estimated that the restriction cost him around Rs 80,000 in advertising revenue.

Sheikh said he approached the cybercrime department but was told that the issue was related to Meta.

He said most of his coverage focused on local news rather than politics but argued that allegations of police entering homes and mistreating residents were matters of public interest.

The other West Bengal bye-election held on Tuesday, in Nandigram, was also marked by controversy. The Trinamool Congress faction led by Mamata Banerjee withdrew its candidate shortly before the nomination deadline and decided to support Congress nominee Milan Pradhan.

Pradhan was subsequently arrested by police in cases dating back decades. Although he was released on bail to campaign, Opposition leaders accused the police and local administration of failing to ensure a level playing field.