Daijiworld Media Network - Kolkata

Kolkata, Jun 23: In a resounding win for the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), party candidate Alifa Ahmed clinched the Kaliganj Assembly seat in West Bengal's Nadia district with a victory margin exceeding 50,000 votes in Monday’s by-election. Ahmed’s triumph reflects a continued consolidation of TMC’s support in the minority-dominated constituency.

Ahmed, daughter of the late TMC MLA Nasiruddin Ahmed, garnered 55.15% of the votes—marking a 1.8 percentage point increase from her father’s vote share of 53.35% in the 2021 state elections. Kaliganj, which has nearly 60% Muslim voters, witnessed strong turnout and heavy polling in favor of the ruling party.

The Congress, supported by the CPI(M)-led Left Front, also saw a modest improvement despite finishing third. Its candidate, Kabil Uddin Shaikh, secured 15.21% of the vote, up from 11.98% in 2021—a 3.23 percentage point swing in their favor.

Meanwhile, the BJP, despite securing second place, suffered a decline in voter support. Ashish Ghosh, the party’s candidate, received 28.29%, down from the 30.91% that BJP’s Abhijit Ghosh had polled in the previous election—a negative swing of 2.62 percentage points.

The by-election was necessitated by the death of Nasiruddin Ahmed, and the seat-sharing dynamics from 2021 largely remained intact. Yet, the outcome underscores the TMC's enduring hold over minority-heavy constituencies, while both the BJP and Congress attempt to recalibrate their strategies ahead of the 2026 state elections.