In the Rejinagar constituency on October 9, 2026, a by-election produced a result that had not previously occurred there — a seat captured by the Bharatiya Janata Party. A tally of 1,29,914 votes carried BJP's Shankharavh Sarkar to victory, with the margin over Aam Janata Unnayan Party's Golam Nabi Azad — son of Humayun Kabir — standing at 75,816 votes.
Azad drew 54,098 votes in the contest, with Congress nominee Abdullahil Kafi tallying 6,168. A tally of 3,847 votes went to Rabiul Alam Chowdhury, the Trinamool Congress nominee fielded under Mamata Banerjee's party banner, while CPI(M)'s Md. Sayeed drew 3,797 ballots. The Democratic Trinamool Congress nominee, Safiuzzaman Saikh, drew 2,044 votes in the count.
Rejinagar's April 2026 Assembly contest had produced a margin of 58,876 votes in Humayun Kabir's favour, with his tally of 1,23,536 placing him clear of the BJP's candidate. Having taken both Rejinagar and Nowda at the polls, he chose to hold onto Nowda and relinquish his claim to Rejinagar, which left that seat open for a by-election to fill. The choice to put his son forward as a candidate drew attention to the extent of his sway within the party's internal structures.
The electoral support Kabir had built over the years proved to be something his son could not simply inherit. Internal splits within Trinamool Congress added another layer of complexity to an already contested race. Two candidates entered the contest from different wings of the Trinamool Congress — Rabiul Alam Chowdhury carrying the banner of Mamata Banerjee's organisation, and Safiuzzaman Saikh standing under the Democratic Trinamool Congress flag after that group broke away.
Divisions within the opposition left its various factions unable to coordinate around any shared platform or candidate. Placing third on the ballot, Congress drew a vote total that outpaced both factions of the TMC. What the division may have done to opposition consolidation remains one question the data does not answer.
Disputes over administrative interference and the detention of party workers surfaced as fresh points of contention during the campaign, with Kabir putting forward those allegations. Police took him into custody on October 6, the day voters went to the polls, a move that drew objections from opposition figures. Kabir stated on October 7 that Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had given him personal assurances that Rejinagar would fall to his son by a margin of around 30,000 votes. A denial of the allegation was put forward by the BJP.
Kabir, voicing his disappointment, told voters he was sorry and pledged to stay out of the Assembly chamber for as long as Adhikari held the position of Chief Minister. A possible departure from political life was among the topics he raised.
The Rejinagar result drew attention to prevailing theories about how voters behave in predominantly Muslim constituencies. The result represented a notable advance for the BJP, while Humayun Kabir found himself on the losing side of the outcome. How a fragmented opposition navigates the aftermath of this outcome remains an open question.
The outcome in Rejinagar indicated that neither a candidate's standing among voters nor ties to an established political family secured a seat when ballots were counted. A defeat of this kind carries implications that extend beyond the local contest, with the distribution of influence across Murshidabad now subject to shift in its wake.
