Big Hits: Dalaroo leads with stellar West African gold strike

West Bengal's by-elections for the Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly constituencies are live, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leading in both races. These polls, held on October 6, come amid the BJP's transition from the Opposition to the ruling party, following a 15-year rule by the Trinamool Congress (TMC). The Election Commission (EC) described polling as "more or less peaceful," though allegations of voter intimidation, polling booth irregularities, and clashes did mar the process.

In Nandigram, BJP candidate Hasirani Rath leads with 24,064 votes, while Congress's Abdullahil Kafi is in second place with 4,365 votes, followed by CPI's 871 and ISF's 377. In Rejinagar, BJP candidate Shankharavh Sarkar leads by 11,033 votes, followed by Congress's Abdullahil Kafi in second and AJUP's Golam Nabi Azad in third. All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate Rabiul Alam Chowdhury is trailing significantly, currently in the seventh position.

Nearly 79% of the 5.24 lakh voters in these constituencies had cast their votes by 5 pm on Tuesday, with Nandigram reporting a voter turnout of 79.39%, and Rejinagar at 78.42%.