Kolkata: The campaign for the Kaliganj Assembly Bypoll in Nadia district ended on Tuesday evening with vibrant street rallies, colourful processions and last-minute public meetings by various political parties.
The Bypoll is shaping up to be a triangular contest among the TMC, BJP and Congress-Left alliance, with identity politics, post-Murshidabad riot anxieties and a nationalist surge after Operation Sindoor set to dominate the electoral discourse.
Hundreds of political workers hit the streets to drum up support for their respective candidates. The campaign saw party supporters waving flags, holding balloons, dancing to songs and beating drums as they wrapped up their high-voltage outreach efforts.
This is the first election in Bengal since Operation Sindoor, India’s military action launched on May 7 in response to the Pahalgam attack, involving targeted air and ground strikes on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
The operation has given the BJP’s campaign a strong national security focus in the minority-dominated seat.
The bypoll was necessitated by the death of sitting TMC MLA Nasiruddin Ahmed earlier this year.
The TMC has fielded his daughter, 38-year-old BTech graduate and corporate professional Alifa Ahmed, as its candidate. The BJP has nominated Ashis Ghosh, a local Panchayat member and former mandal president, while the Congress has put forward Kabil Uddin Sheikh, with support from the CPI(M)-led Left Front.
Although the CPI(M) had initially expressed interest in contesting the seat based on its recent performances in the 2024 Lok Sabha and 2023 Panchayat polls, the RSP — a key Left ally with historic influence in Kaliganj — chose to support the Congress candidate to maintain unity within the alliance.
The Constituency has a total of 2,52,670 registered voters, including 1,30,363 men and 1,22,303 women.
To ensure smooth and accessible voting, the number of polling stations has been rationalised to 309. Voting will take place on June 19 and votes will be counted on June 23.