Nandigram assembly election results 2026: Suvendu Adhikari retains Nandigram stronghold

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 was contetsing for the Trinamool, by 9,665 votes.He won the iconic 2021 election with 110,764 votes (48%), defeating chief minister Mamata Banerjee , 108,808 votes) by a razor-thin margin of 1,956 votes after recounts. Key issues include land acquisition disputes, irrigation and flood control along Haldi River for paddy and betel farming, road connectivity between 40 GPs in Nandigram-I/II, and drinking water. Demand for health centres, schools and local jobs post-2007 agitation legacy persist, with SC voters (approx 15per cent) key in reserved dynamics nearby. Voter turnout hit 88.55per cent with 2.43 lakh electors. Adhikari flipped the seat from his own AITC wins (2016 margin 81,230; 2011), ending Left's earlier hold (Abdul Kabir Sekh CPI 2006). Symbol of 2007 anti-land protests that toppled Left Front, Nandigram remains Bengal's political flashpoint. Falls under Tamluk Lok Sabha, BJP's Abhijit Gangopadhyay won 2024 by 77,733 votes. High stakes rematch looms in 2026.