Bengal police arrest Rejinagar bypoll candidate days after Nandigram candidate Milan Pradhan’s arrest

An Independent candidate for the Rejinagar assembly bypoll in West Bengal was arrested in a five-year-old case of a clash between two groups during the 2021 state elections, police said.

The arrest of Saiful Islam, who is associated with the Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) led by Humayun Kabir, on September 19 came a day after police nabbed the Congress' Nandigram assembly bypoll nominee Milan Pradhan in an almost two-decades-old case registered during agitation against land acquisition in the region.

The two bypolls slated for October 6 were necessitated after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari vacated Nandigram, which he had won alongside Bhabanipur, while Rejinagar fell vacant after Mr. Kabir retained Nawda upon winning both seats in the 2026 assembly elections.