India by-election results 2026: BJP wins three seats, Vijay’s TVK sweeps Tamil Nadu

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged with three victories in India’s October 9, 2026 by-election results, winning the Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly constituencies in West Bengal and the Nagaon Lok Sabha seat in Assam, while Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) secured both Assembly seats contested in the state. The All India N.R. Congress, an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the National Democratic Alliance, retained the Thattanchavady Assembly constituency in Puducherry, completing the results across six constituencies that voted on October 6.

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s most commanding Assembly victory came in Nandigram, where Hasi Rani Rath defeated Congress candidate Milan Pradhan by 122,753 votes. In Rejinagar, BJP candidate Shankharavh Sarkar defeated Golam Nabi Azad of the Aam Janata Unnayan Party by 75,816 votes, producing a politically notable outcome in a Muslim-majority constituency in Murshidabad district.

Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam won Madurantakam and Dharapuram, with K. Maragatham Kumaravel and P. Sathyabama defeating their respective Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam rivals. Both winning candidates had originally been elected on All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam tickets earlier in 2026 before joining Vijay’s party, making the October contests an important test of their ability to retain constituency support after changing political affiliation.

The results prompted sharply different responses from the governing and opposition parties. Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the BJP’s victories as an endorsement of its governance, while Vijay presented the Tamil Nadu outcomes as support for his administration. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M. K. Stalin challenged that interpretation and criticised the circumstances surrounding the by-elections.

Who won the six Indian by-elections held on October 6, 2026?

The Election Commission of India’s October by-election exercise covered five Assembly constituencies and one parliamentary constituency. Counting took place on October 9, with the results producing victories for three parties across four states and Union Territories.

The results give the BJP three victories, TVK two and AINRC one. That distribution, however, should not be interpreted as a single national electoral verdict because the contests involved different parties, candidates and political circumstances.

In Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, the by-elections also followed leadership and party-affiliation developments arising from the 2026 Assembly elections. The results are therefore particularly relevant for understanding whether voters continued supporting individual candidates and governing parties after those changes.

How did BJP candidate Hasi Rani Rath win Nandigram by more than 1.22 lakh votes?

The Nandigram by-election produced the largest victory margin among the five Assembly constituencies. Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Hasi Rani Rath received 164,427 votes, equivalent to approximately 75.94% of votes polled, while Indian National Congress candidate Milan Pradhan secured 41,674 votes and 19.25%. Communist Party of India candidate Santi Gopal Giri finished third with 5,779 votes.

The seat became vacant after West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, who had won both Nandigram and Bhabanipur during the April 2026 Assembly elections, chose to retain Bhabanipur. The Bharatiya Janata Party subsequently nominated Hasi Rani Rath, the mother of Chandranath Rath, a former personal assistant to Adhikari who was killed after the party formed the state government in May.

Nandigram carries considerable political significance because of its long association with major political confrontations in West Bengal. The October result demonstrates the BJP’s substantial constituency-level advantage in this particular contest, although the size of the victory should be interpreted alongside opposition candidate selection and the circumstances that led to the by-election.

Why is BJP’s victory in Muslim-majority Rejinagar politically significant?

Rejinagar delivered one of the most closely watched results in the October by-election round. Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Shankharavh Sarkar secured 129,914 votes, representing 63.14% of votes polled, while Aam Janata Unnayan Party candidate Golam Nabi Azad received 54,098 votes, or 26.29%. Sarkar’s victory margin stood at 75,816 votes, with Congress candidate Abdullahil Kafi finishing third.

The constituency became vacant after Aam Janata Unnayan Party founder Humayun Kabir, who had won both Rejinagar and Naoda in April, retained Naoda. The result is notable because Rejinagar has a substantial Muslim electorate, a demographic in which the BJP has historically faced significant electoral challenges in parts of West Bengal.

Suvendu Adhikari attributed the victory partly to increased support among Muslim voters and argued that the BJP’s outreach had expanded its electoral base. That assessment remains a political interpretation rather than a statistically established breakdown of voting behaviour, because constituency-level results do not independently reveal how individual religious communities voted.

The fragmented opposition field is another important consideration. The Aam Janata Unnayan Party, Congress and other parties competed for votes, making it difficult to attribute the result solely to changes in voter preferences within any particular community. Nevertheless, the scale of the BJP’s victory provides evidence of strong organisational and electoral performance in Rejinagar.

How did Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam win Madurantakam and Dharapuram?

Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam secured both Tamil Nadu by-election constituencies, providing a significant political success for Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay approximately five months after his party assumed office. The victories were especially consequential because both winning candidates had previously represented the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and were contesting after switching their political allegiance.

In Madurantakam, K. Maragatham Kumaravel received 74,048 votes, defeating Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam candidate I. Paranthamen, who secured 54,008 votes. Her victory margin was 20,040 votes, while All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam candidate S. Kanitha Sampath finished third with 47,450 votes. The three-way distribution demonstrates that TVK prevailed despite substantial competition from both major opposition formations.

Dharapuram produced a narrower result. TVK candidate P. Sathyabama won with 66,841 votes against 57,370 for DMK candidate S. Suganya, a margin of 9,471 votes. All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam candidate K. Banumathi received 45,280 votes, illustrating the competitive environment in which the ruling party retained the constituency through its new candidate.

The two victories reportedly increased Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam’s strength to 109 members in Tamil Nadu’s 234-seat Legislative Assembly. More broadly, they demonstrate that the party was able to convert the political realignment of two sitting legislators into electoral victories, although the margins and opposition vote shares show that the contests remained competitive.

What did Vijay and M. K. Stalin say after the Tamil Nadu by-election results?

Chief Minister Vijay characterised the two victories as an endorsement of his party and argued that the results represented a rejection of criticism directed at women associated with Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam. His response reflected the ruling party’s effort to interpret the by-elections as a public judgment on both its administration and the political campaign conducted by its opponents.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M. K. Stalin challenged that interpretation, describing the results as evidence of what he considered undemocratic political practices. Stalin maintained that the ruling party’s victories should not be regarded as a durable endorsement and argued that its wider political standing remained vulnerable.

The competing interpretations are political claims rather than conclusions established by the Election Commission. The verified electoral outcomes show that TVK won both constituencies, while the arguments about why voters supported those candidates remain contested.

The results nevertheless provide an important measure of the governing party’s ability to defend seats following defections. With Tamil Nadu’s political competition involving multiple established and emerging formations, the vote shares also show why future contests cannot be assessed purely through a comparison of winning margins.

How did BJP candidate Devashish Sharma win the Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election in Assam?

The Bharatiya Janata Party regained the Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency in Assam, with Devashish Sharma defeating All India United Democratic Front president Badruddin Ajmal by 172,527 votes. The Indian National Congress finished third, making the outcome a significant parliamentary victory for the BJP.

The BJP secured approximately half the votes polled, allowing it to reclaim a constituency that had remained outside its control for 12 years. The result adds to the party’s electoral strength in Assam and provides another constituency-level indication of the competitive difficulties facing opposition parties.

Following his victory, Sharma thanked voters, party workers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. The BJP presented the result as support for its development and governance policies, although the outcome also needs to be understood in the context of a multi-cornered contest.

A parliamentary by-election cannot independently establish a statewide or national voting trend. However, the size of the victory and the BJP’s recovery of Nagaon are politically consequential developments that will influence how parties assess their organisation and electoral positioning in Assam.

Why did the All India N.R. Congress retain Thattanchavady in Puducherry?

The All India N.R. Congress retained the Thattanchavady Assembly constituency in Puducherry, with Ashok Anand receiving 13,358 votes and defeating Congress candidate E. Vinayagam by 8,482 votes. Anand secured approximately 61.12% of votes polled, compared with 22.31% for Vinayagam, while Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam candidate K. Sethu finished third.

The by-election became necessary after Puducherry Chief Minister N. Rangasamy, who had won both Thattanchavady and Mangalam in the April Assembly elections, chose to retain Mangalam. The subsequent result allowed the governing All India N.R. Congress to maintain control of the vacated constituency.

As an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the National Democratic Alliance, the All India N.R. Congress victory was welcomed by national BJP leaders. The result provides a positive electoral development for the governing alliance, although its significance remains primarily concentrated on Puducherry’s political environment.

What do the October 2026 by-election results mean for India’s political parties?

The October results provide several distinct political signals rather than one uniform national trend. The Bharatiya Janata Party demonstrated its ability to defend Nandigram, win Rejinagar and regain Nagaon, while Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam successfully defended two Tamil Nadu constituencies contested by legislators who had switched parties. The All India N.R. Congress also retained a seat vacated by its own Chief Minister.

For the BJP, the Rejinagar result is arguably the most politically distinctive Assembly outcome because it demonstrates a large victory in a constituency with demographic and electoral characteristics historically considered challenging for the party. However, the extent of any broader shift in minority voting patterns requires more evidence than a single constituency result.

For Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, the Madurantakam and Dharapuram victories strengthen its position following the transfer of two former All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam legislators. The fact that the DMK and AIADMK retained meaningful vote shares also confirms that electoral competition in Tamil Nadu remains substantial.

The outcomes may influence future campaign strategies, alliance negotiations and local organisational decisions, but six constituencies do not constitute a representative national survey. The most defensible conclusion is that governing parties and alliances performed strongly in the seats contested, while the reasons for their success varied considerably across regions.

What are the key takeaways from India’s October 9, 2026 by-election results?

– The Bharatiya Janata Party won three constituencies, including the Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly seats in West Bengal and the Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency in Assam.

– Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, won Madurantakam and Dharapuram, with both winning candidates having previously represented the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.

– BJP candidate Hasi Rani Rath won Nandigram with 164,427 votes, defeating Congress candidate Milan Pradhan by 122,753 votes.

– In Rejinagar, BJP candidate Shankharavh Sarkar defeated Aam Janata Unnayan Party candidate Golam Nabi Azad by 75,816 votes, producing a significant result in a Muslim-majority constituency.

– TVK candidate K. Maragatham Kumaravel won Madurantakam by 20,040 votes, while P. Sathyabama secured Dharapuram by 9,471 votes.

– BJP candidate Devashish Sharma won the Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election in Assam, defeating Badruddin Ajmal by 172,527 votes.

– The All India N.R. Congress retained Puducherry’s Thattanchavady constituency, with Ashok Anand defeating Congress candidate E. Vinayagam by 8,482 votes.

– The results represent important regional political developments, but they should not be treated as a representative measure of nationwide voting preferences.