Six by-elections, two clear winners and one familiar warning: India’s October bypolls were a small contest with an outsized political signal.
Voting took place on 6 October and counting was held on 9 October. The BJP-led NDA won four of the six seats, while actor Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) swept both seats in Tamil Nadu. The Congress won none.
The scoreboard
- Nandigram, West Bengal: BJP won by more than 1.2 lakh votes.
- Rejinagar, West Bengal: BJP won by about 76,000 votes.
- Nagaon, Assam: BJP’s Devasish Sharma won by more than 1.7 lakh votes, according to Election Commission results.
- Thattanchavady, Puducherry: AINRC, an NDA ally, won the seat.
- Madurantakam and Dharapuram, Tamil Nadu: TVK won both.
TVK’s Tamil Nadu sweep
The two Tamil Nadu results were the surprise of the night. Vijay’s party, contesting in a state long dominated by the DMK and AIADMK, won both seats it fought. By-elections are not a full measure of a party’s strength, but a clean sweep gives TVK something harder to buy: evidence that it can convert celebrity recognition into votes.
A good night for the NDA
The BJP’s margins in West Bengal and Assam will be read as a sign that the ruling alliance retains its organisational edge in the east and northeast. The Puducherry result adds to a run of bypoll wins for the NDA.
Why six seats matter — and why they don’t
Bypolls are local, turnout is often low and voters frequently use them to punish incumbents rather than endorse governments. Six seats cannot predict a general election.
What they can do is shift momentum, shape media narratives and test party machinery ahead of larger battles. On all three counts, the NDA and TVK left October with more than they brought in.
