Tag: Mamata Banerjee

  • BJP claims Mamata sought help of party leader to win in Nandigram, Trinamool hits back with Mukul Roy’s ‘leaked’ audio

    By PTI
    NANDIGRAM: A huge controversy erupted on Saturday amid the polling for 30 assembly seats in West Bengal, with the BJP releasing an audio clip where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is purportedly heard cajoling a saffron party leader from Nandigram to rejoin the TMC and help her win the seat.

    The state’s ruling TMC reacted sharp and quick, releasing another audio tape where BJP national vice president Mukul Roy is heard telling industrialist and party leader Shishir Bajoria about how to influence the poll panel.

    Banerjee is pitted against her former protege and now the BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari in Nandigram, the spring board that propelled her to power in 2011, dislodging the Left Front government after a 34-year unbroken rule.

    A BJP delegation, led by party general secretary and Bengal minder Kailash Vijayvargiya, met the state’s chief electoral officer and handed over the tape, claiming Banerjee was misusing her official position to influence the outcome of the bitterly contested assembly poll.

    The ruling TMC questioned the genuineness of the audio tape, but asserted that since Pralay Pal was a former TMC leader who switched over to the BJP, there was nothing wrong with Banerjee trying to woo him back.

    ALSO READ | ‘Under pressure by party’ not to contest, Bengal BJP nominee threatens to immolate self

    Hours later, the TMC released to media an audio clip of the purported conversation between Roy and Bajoria.

    Roy is heard telling Bajoria to convince the Election Commission to allow polling agents, even from outside a given constituency, to be function at all polling stations.

    Polling agents of parties, under the existent rules, are allowed only at booths in localities where they normally reside.

    “See, we have to include this point while meeting the EC. We have to say that this rule that polling agents can only be deputed in their localities should be changed. The only criteria should be that the person is a citizen of the state. The BJP won’t be able to have its agents in a large number of booths otherwise,” Roy purportedly told Bajoria.

    The TMC reacted angrily, with its spokesperson Kunal Ghosh insisting the audio clip had “blown the lid off” the nexus between the BJP and the Election Commission.

    Earlier in the day, Praloy Pal, who pledged his allegiance to the Adhikari family, whose two members are still TMC Lok Sabha MPs, claimed Banerjee personally called him up and asked for help to win the Nandigram seat.

    “You should help us win Nandigram. Look, I know you have some grievances, but that’s due mostly to the Adhikaris who never allowed me to get into Nandigram or East Midnapore. I will take care of everything henceforth,” Banerjee purportedly told Pal, a BJP official in East Midnapore, the district where the Adhikari family holds sway.

    Pal, however, was not game.

    “Didi, you called me and I am honoured. But I can’t betray the Adhikaris as they have stood by me through thick and thin,” he was heard saying in the audio clip.

    ALSO READ | Nearly 80 per cent voter turnout in first phase of Bengal polls, 10 arrested for violence

    He later told TV news channels that Banerjee called him up and requested him to return to the TMC, a proposal he declined.

    “I am now working for the BJP and can’t betray them,” said Pal.

    PTI could not independently verify the authenticity of the audio tape.

    Sharing the clip of the purported conversation, BJP’s social media head Amit Malviya tweeted, “Massive! Mamata Banerjee calls Proloy Pal, BJP’s district Vice President in Nandigram and pleads for help! Proloy tells her that he was humiliated in TMC, and he, along with this family, cannot betray the BJP. Pishi is definitely losing Nandigram and TMC Bengal.”

    “Only a candidate who has accepted defeat can speak the way Mamata Banerjee has spoken,” Vijayvargiya told journalists.

    When asked about whether the tape was authentic, the BJP leader retorted: “I as saying what I am saying with full responsibility (jawabdari).”

    “She’s imploring (yachna) for help. It shows she has accepted defeat,” he said.

    ALSO READ | Bengal elections: Congress-Left-ISF alliance fighting for political relevance, hopes to be kingmaker

    The TMC said the tape was not verified but found nothing wrong in Banerjee approaching a former partyman.

    “First of all, the clip is not verified. We don’t know whether it is true or false. But we don’t see anything wrong in a politician calling her former leaders or aides. This is quite natural in politics,” TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said.

    The high-profile Nandigram seat will go to poll on April 1 in the second phase.

  • Bengal elections 2021: Activists of BJP, TMC clash in Nandigram, three injured

    By PTI
    NANDIGRAM: A clash broke out on Saturday between activists of the BJP and the TMC in Purba Medinipur’s Nandigram constituency — which is set to go to polls on April 1 — leaving at least three persons seriously injured, a senior police officer here said.

    Seikh Sufiyan, the election agent of TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, however, claimed that goons hired by the BJP carried out an attack on the workers of the state’s ruling party, a charge denied by the saffron camp.

    “All three, who sustained injuries during the attack, are activists of the TMC. They were rushed to SSKM hospital in Kolkata. The condition of one of them has been stated to be serious,” Sufiyan said.

    BJP goons have “let loose a reign of terror” in Nandigram over the past 15 days, he alleged.

    “These goons have been visiting homes of TMC activists to attack them, twisting their hands and even snatching gold chains. The police, however, are not doing anything about it,” he said.

    Denying Sufiyan’s allegation, the senior police officer said action was immediately taken to bring the situation under control and restore peace in the region.

    Local BJP leaders, on their part, contended that the TMC men are trying to disrupt peace in the constituency — where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is locked in a fierce battle with protege-turned-adversary Suvendu Adhikari.

    “None of our workers was involved in any attack on TMC activists. On the contrary, the ruling camp members assaulted our karyakartas during Suvendu Adhikari’s rallies. The three TMC men, undergoing treatment, must be victims of infighting,” a saffron party leader said.

  • ‘Confront BJP-hired goons with ladle and spatula’: Mamata Banerjee tells women in West Bengal

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Alleging that the BJP was bringing in goons from outside to stop people from exercising their franchise in Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday urged women to “confront the hoodlums with ladle, spatula” and other cooking utensils.

    Addressing two public rallies at Narayangarh and Pingla in West Midnapore district, the TMC boss dubbed bte noire Suvendu Adhikari and his family as “traitors”, and claimed that one member of the household was seen distributing money among people on Friday night, hours before 30 assembly constituencies of the state went to polls.

    “Yesterday, one of the Adhikari brothers was seen distributing money…Women in the area caught him red-handed and asked the police to arrest him. They also handed over 30 goons, all hired from outside, to the police,” she said.

    Banerjee asserted that the saffron party’s fate will be sealed after the first phase of polls.

    “The BJP is bringing in goons from outside Bengal to places where the party has some foothold. I will urge the women of the state to come out with ‘hata and khunti’ (ladle and spatula) and confront the hoodlums.”

    Assembly polls LIVE | Mamata questions PM Modi’s Bangladesh visit, says violation of poll code

    She further requested the Election Commission to ensure that the assembly polls are conducted in a fair manner.

    “Delhi’s Amit Shah wants to conduct the polls in Bengal. With due respect to the Election Commission, I urge the poll body to see to it that the elections are held in a free, fair and impartial manner,” the CM underlined, taking a swipe at the home minister.

    The TMC chief also said that she will be putting up in Purba Medinipur’s Nandigram constituency, where polls are scheduled on April 1, to keep an eye on the activities of ‘Mir jafars’ (traitors).

    Three members of the Adhikari family — which wields considerable influence in Purba Medinipur — have quit the TMC and joined the saffron camp over the past few months.

    Banerjee is locked in a fierce battle against her former lieutenant Suvendu Adhikari in Nandigram.

    “I was responsible for giving them plump positions in public offices. they, however, betrayed the TMC and crossed over to the BJP…they were lured with money,” she added.

  • Mamata Banerjee called seeking help, alleges Nandigram BJP leader; party releases audio

    By IANS
    NEW DELHI: Ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s likely roadshow in Nandigram from where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting the Assembly polls, war of words between the BJP and Trinamool Congress has intensified.

    BJP District Vice President in Nandigram Proloy Pal claimed on Saturday that Banerjee called him and sought his help in the election. Later on, the saffron party released an audio of a conversation between Pal and Banerjee.

    The BJP sources, meanwhile, said that Shah will hold a massive roadshow in Nandigram on March 30 for party candidate Suvendhu Adhikari, a former trusted aide of Banerjee.

    West Bengal BJP co-incharge Amit Malviya tweeted, “Massive, Mamata Banerjee calls Proloy Pal, BJP’s district Vice President in Nandigram and pleads for help. Proloy tells her that he was humiliated in TMC and he along with this family cannot betray the BJP. Pishi is definitely losing Nandigram and TMC Bengal.”

    In a video statement shared by the BJP, Pal said that he received a call from Banerjee seeking support. “Today, I received a call from Banerjee. She asked me to support her,” Pal said.

    Earlier, taking a dig at TMC, Malviya tweeted, “TMC spokesperson’s concern is Mamata Banerjee winning Nandigram, What about rest of West Bengal? Given up? The fear and nervousness in TMC on Pishi’s own prospects is palpable. They know she is losing Nandigram and Bengal, both.”

    On the other hand, the TMC claimed that Banerjee’s campaign will get another boost with Shah’s roadshow.

    As the first phase of polling in 30 Assembly constituencies began on Saturday, TMC Rajya Sabha member Derek O Brien tweeted, “May 2, Trinamool will win Bengal. Bengal’s daughter (Banerjee) will defeat Bengal’s traitor in his ‘backyard’ in Nandigram. Mo-Sha and members of the tourist gang will continue trying to destroy every institution. Women in Bengal will continue to wear saris any way they want.”

    Referring to Shah’s roadshow, the TMC leader further said, “The Mamata Banerjee campaign in Nandigram just got another boost. We hear that a member of the Tourist Gang (part time HM) will be doing a roadshow there on March 30. Khela Hobe, bring it on.”

    Polling in Nandigram will be held in the second phase of elections in the state on April 1.

  • ‘Confront BJP-hired goons with ladla and spatula’: Mamata Banerjee tells women in West Bengal

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Alleging that the BJP was bringing in goons from outside to stop people from exercising their franchise in Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday urged women to “confront the hoodlums with ladle, spatula” and other cooking utensils.

    Addressing two public rallies at Narayangarh and Pingla in West Midnapore district, the TMC boss dubbed bte noire Suvendu Adhikari and his family as “traitors”, and claimed that one member of the household was seen distributing money among people on Friday night, hours before 30 assembly constituencies of the state went to polls.

    “Yesterday, one of the Adhikari brothers was seen distributing money…Women in the area caught him red-handed and asked the police to arrest him. They also handed over 30 goons, all hired from outside, to the police,” she said.

    Banerjee asserted that the saffron party’s fate will be sealed after the first phase of polls.

    “The BJP is bringing in goons from outside Bengal to places where the party has some foothold. I will urge the women of the state to come out with ‘hata and khunti’ (ladle and spatula) and confront the hoodlums.”

    Assembly polls LIVE | Mamata questions PM Modi’s Bangladesh visit, says violation of poll code

    She further requested the Election Commission to ensure that the assembly polls are conducted in a fair manner.

    “Delhi’s Amit Shah wants to conduct the polls in Bengal. With due respect to the Election Commission, I urge the poll body to see to it that the elections are held in a free, fair and impartial manner,” the CM underlined, taking a swipe at the home minister.

    The TMC chief also said that she will be putting up in Purba Medinipur’s Nandigram constituency, where polls are scheduled on April 1, to keep an eye on the activities of ‘Mir jafars’ (traitors).

    Three members of the Adhikari family — which wields considerable influence in Purba Medinipur — have quit the TMC and joined the saffron camp over the past few months.

    Banerjee is locked in a fierce battle against her former lieutenant Suvendu Adhikari in Nandigram.

    “I was responsible for giving them plump positions in public offices. they, however, betrayed the TMC and crossed over to the BJP…they were lured with money,” she added.

  • West Bengal elections: As voting begins, CM Mamata urges people to vote in large numbers

    By ANI
    KOLKATA: As the polling for first of the eight-phase assembly polls in West Bengal began on Saturday morning, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called upon people of the state to vote in large number.

    “I call upon the people of Bengal to exercise their democratic right by coming out and voting in large numbers,” Mamata tweeted.

    বাংলার সকল মানুষকে আমি অনুরোধ করব নিজের গণতান্ত্রিক অধিকার প্রয়োগ করুন, সবাই আসুন, ভোট দিন।I call upon the people of Bengal to exercise their democratic right by coming out and voting in large numbers.
    — Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) March 27, 2021

    An intense tussle of power has been witnessed between BJP and the ruling TMC, with both sides at loggerheads with each other on various issues in the poll-bound state. Several members from TMC have defected to BJP and vice versa.

    Sitting on a wheelchair, Mamata exerted her best efforts in the campaigns to testify her statement that a “wounded tigress becomes more aggressive”.

    CLICK HERE FOR ASSAM, WEST BENGAL POLL UPDATES 

    The West Bengal Chief Minister even termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah as Duryodhana and Dushasana.

    In the first phase, 30 seats covering all assembly constituencies from the districts of Purulia and Jhargram and a segment of Bankura, Purba Medinipur and Paschim Medinipur will go for polls.

    Polling, which began at 7 am deciding the fate of 191 candidates in 30 constituencies, will conclude at 6:30 pm in the state. 

  • SC stays HC order reviving criminal cases against Mamata’s election agent

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Friday stayed the operation of a Calcutta High Court order which resulted in the reinstitution of several criminal cases against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s election agent in connection with the Nandigram protests against land acquisition by the state government from 2007-09.

    A bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and Krishna Murari said, “Since the order which affects the petitioner (election agent) herein was passed without hearing him, we deem it appropriate to pass an interim order staying the operation of the order dated March 5, 2021”.

    The petitioner, S K Supian, has challenged the order passed by the Calcutta High Court on two PILs against the withdrawal of prosecution in various criminal cases connected with the protests over the alleged improper acquisition of land by the state to create a special economic zone (SEZ) in Nandigram.

    Supian, represented by senior advocate Vikas Singh, has contended he was not made a party in the PILs and the reinstitution of the criminal cases has impaired his ability to discharge his functions as an election agent under the Representation of People Act 1951.

    Singh alleged that a PIL was “filed by a BJP person” in the high court which passed the interim order.

    “By an interim order, the case was revived,” he said, adding, “I (petitioner) am the election agent of the Chief Minister and because of this order, I am virtually disabled”.

    “It is unheard of. There is no question of revival of case,” Singh said, adding that his client was impleaded as a party in the matter before the high court, but after passing an interim order without hearing him.

    He said the cases relate to protests at Nandigram and later, the state government decided to withdraw these matters.

    “This high court order has to be stayed. Now, I (petitioner) have been impleaded as a party in the high court, I will go there and argue my case,” Singh said, adding the plea filed in the high court is “politically motivated”.

    Senior advocates A M Singhvi and Siddharth Luthra, appearing for the state, also opposed the high court’s interim order.

    Singhvi sought stay of the high court interim order and said it was passed on a PIL and that too, without hearing the person.

    “You must stay the order (of high court) completely,” Singhvi said.

    Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for a caveator, said both the petitions — one filed by the state and the other by Supian — should be dismissed with exemplary cost as they have “lied to this court”.

    The caveator before the apex court is one of the persons who filed the PIL in the high court.

    Rohatgi, during the hearing, claimed that both the state and Supian have argued that only agitation cases were withdrawn but there were some cases, including those under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code also.

    However, the bench said that the plea filed by the state is not before it.

    Singh said in Nandigram protest, there were allegations that some people had died in police firing and in some cases, allegation of murder was there.

    Rohatgi alleged that there are six cases against Supian and he was absconding for 13 years.

    “This is a shocking case where cases are withdrawn in stereotype fashion,” Rohatgi said, adding the petitioners before the high court are practicing lawyers.

    Rohatgi said the apex court can ask the division bench of the high court to hear the matter on Tuesday.

    Supian, in his plea, has claimed that he was discharged or acquitted in various cases, in relation to the protests against the land acquisition, in February and June last year.

    The criminal cases had alleged that he had engaged in unlawful assembly and had participated in the violence in connection with the protests, his petition has said.

    He has claimed that he came to know the cases were reinstituted when the process to issue arrest warrants was initiated by the magisterial court on March 15.

    The magisterial court by its order of March 15 had also stayed its order of last year permitting withdrawal of the prosecution and reinstated the criminal cases.

    The matter was mentioned in the first half of the day before a bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde by senior advocate Vikas Singh.

    The apex court, during the mentioning, said that “anything can happen in a political rivalry” and that it will see whether a special bench can be constituted depending on availability.

    Later, the matter was listed for hearing in the post-lunch session.

  • No development in 10 years, Mamata took Bengal back to 19th century, says Rajnath

    By PTI
    JOYPUR: Accusing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of “taking back Bengal to the 19th century, with no development work undertaken in the past 10 years”, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said the TMC dispensation, just like its predecessor, the Left Front, has wronged the people of the state.

    Singh, who addressed a series of public meetings in Purulia, Bankura and South 24 Parganas districts, took at dig at the TMC’s khela hobe (game will be played) slogan, and said Bengal, now on, will witness only work and development.

    Alleging that the TMC supremo delivers speeches encouraging acts of violence and aggression, the union minister said, “Unke bhashan mein bhi hingsha hote hai. woh kehti hai ke isko mar bhagao, usko bartan se pit pit kar bhagao (During her speeches, she talks of violence. she asks people to beat up and oust a few, hit others with utensils).”

    He wondered if the chief minister “seeks to divide the country” by repeatedly terming people who have come from other states as outsiders.

    Stressing that the Bharatiya Jan Sangh, which later became the BJP, was established by Syama Prasad Mookerjee — a son of Bengal — Singh said, “Will any brother from this state be considered an outsider in Uttar Pradesh? All people born on the soil of India are brothers to each other.”

    Claiming that the TMC dispensation has done nothing for the people of Bengal, Singh said, “How is it possible that those belonging to one party (BJP) are outsiders, while you, having ruined Bengal, are an insider? The CM, instead of undertaking development work, makes thoughtless remarks.

    “Neither ‘Maa nor mati or manush’ (mother, motherland, and people) feel safe in the state.”

    ‘Maa, Mati, manush’ is another slogan that was coined by the TMC during 2009 general election.

    Singh further accused Banerjee of not fulfilling her promise of putting an end to water crisis in Purulia.

    “Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on his part, has promised piped water availablility in every household of the country by the end of 2024,” the defence minister stated.

    Drawing parallels between the BJP and former India cricket captain Saurav Ganguly, he said just like the stylish southpaw, who hit a sixer whenever he stepped out of the crease, people have placed the saffron party across the crease during the Lok Sabha polls by giving it 18 seats in West Bengal.

    No one can now stop us from hitting a sixer,” he said.

    Maintaining that the BJP government at the Centre has never discriminated against the people of the state, as often alleged by the TMC, the senior saffron party leader said, “The Congress-led UPA government at the Centre had given Rs 1.32 lakh crore to Bengal under the 13th Finance Commission, while the Modi government allotted Rs 4.48 lakh crore to the state under the 14th Finance Commission.”

    Noting that more than 150 saffron camp workers have been killed in West Bengal, the senir BJP leader said that it is the responsibility of the state’s chief minister to ensure the safety and security of its people, no matter which party they bore allegiance to.

    “Bomb-making factories are openly being run in Bengal. If the same had happened in Uttar Pradesh (of which he was once the chief minister), the matter would have been dealt with sternly.”

    “The BJP, if allowed to form government in Bengal, will make security arrangements not just for saffron camp workers, but also those belonging to the Congress, Left and the TMC,” he said, exuding confidence that his party will bag more than 200 seats in the state.

    Emphasising that the BJP is not a party that creates enmity between people, he said, the TMC supremo has been trying to divide the people of Bengal on religious lines.

    “The BJP will not practice discrimination on the basis of religion. It would rather punish anyone creating trouble or indulging in such crimes. Now no one will be able to stop Durga Puja celebrations or Saraswati Puja in Bengal,” he said.

    Controversy had erupted in 2017 at a school in Tehatta, Nadia district, over celebration of Saraswati puja, with one section of students apparently trying to stop another group from observing the festival.

    In that very year, the West Bengal government had imposed curbs on Durga idol immersion, as the occasion coincided with Muharram, but the high court later eased the restrictions.

    Insisting that the country has become stronger under the Narendra Modi dispensation, the Defence Minister said that the Indian Army “stood firm” during a face-off with China in Ladakh, referring to the incursions by the Chinese PLA and the disengagement of the armies thereafter.

    He also said that the country has taught Pakistan a lesson with airstrikes on terror bases to eliminate ultras, following attacks in Uri and Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir.

    “Modiji has a 56-inch chest. If you want to see a strong India, you have to bring the BJP government to power in Bengal as well,” he said.

  • Mamata reduced Bengal to state of penury: Adityanath hits out at Bengal CM

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: BJP leader Yogi Adityanath Thursday said that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has reduced the state to extreme penury with no intention of developing it but “promoting goons and extortionists”.

    Speaking at three public rallies in Sagar assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas, Chandrakona in West Midnapore and Nandigram in East Midnapore here, Adityanath said that Bengal once upon a time was the most advanced and progressive state in the country.

    “Bengal was once an advanced state and progressive too. But first the Congress, then the Communists and now the Trinamool Congress have destroyed the industrial development of the state and allowed corruption to blossom unbound,” he said.

    He said the count down has begun and after 35 days BJP will form the government in Bengal.

    “The people of West Bengal are yearning for jobs and development. People will be benefitted by the development which will take place then”.

    The Uttar Pradesh chief minister said the soil of Bengal has produced great patriots like Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

    Referring to Syama Prasad Mukherjee, the founder of Bharatiya Jana Sangh, Adityanath said he raised his voice against Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir which has been scrapped by the BJP-led government at the Centre fulfilling his dream.

    He said the saffron party leader Suvendu Adhikari, once a follower of Banerjee had shown courage to leave TMC and join BJP with the vision to create a prosperous state.

    Hitting out at TMC, Adityanath said it had “successfully produced goons and extortionists who have destroyed the development of the state”.

    He claimed that in the last ten years under Mamata Banerjee’s chief ministership, people did not get money in their hands though funds had been sent by the Centre like after Cyclone Amphan.

    “Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given Rs 1000 crore to the state just after Amphan cyclone. That money never went to the hands of the people but was taken away by TMC leaders,” he said.

    Adityanath said people of UP have received benefits of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, the PM Ujjwala scheme, Ayushman Bharat and farmers under Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme.

    “Then why the people of West Bengal will be deprived of these benefits ? This shows TMC is not bothered about the development of the state,” he added.

    He said once the state gets the government by the party (BJP) that is in power at the Centre, then benefits will flow to the people of the state.

    Commenting on Mamata Banerjee’s opposition to ‘Jai Sri Ram’ slogan of BJP, Adityanath said there was a government in UP which also disliked it like her.

    “But the people of UP overthrew the government and brought BJP into power”.

    Taking a dig at the TMC supremo, he said she is only keen to protect the infiltrators and has always encouraged the politics of appeasement to preserve her vote bank.

    “If BJP is given a chance to come to power in West Bengal, infiltration will be stopped”, he said.

    Adityanath said India is fighting terrorism under the leadership of Modi.

    “Earlier, Pakistan used to enter Indian territory and launch attacks. But, now Indian jawans are launching surgical strikes destroying terrorists camps in that country”, he added.

  • Bengal polls: Parties bank on identity politics, promise of industrialisation in high-profile Nandigram seat

    By PTI
    NANDIGRAM: Identity politics and industrialisation have emerged as poll planks in West Bengal’s high-profile Nandigram seat, where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will contest her former lieutenant and BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari.

    In a constituency where 30 per cent minority votes can influence the results, both the BJP and TMC are also engaged in competitive Hindutva to woo the majority community.

    The obscure agrarian region in Purba Medinipur district had shaken the foundation of the mighty Left Front regime through the anti-land acquisition movement in 2007 that had ultimately catapulted the TMC to power in 2011.

    The then two prominent faces of the stir, Banerjee and Adhikari, will now contest each other in the second of the eight-phase elections on April 1.

    The CPI(M), with its young candidate Minakshi Mukherjee, is seeking to regain its ground lost to the BJP.

    Apart from communal polarisation, the constituency is also witnessing the ‘insider-outsider’ debate but here, Banerjee, who has used the plank to label BJP as a ‘party of outsiders’, is facing the flak as Adhikari is projecting himself as a ‘Bhoomiputra’ (son of soil) and the TMC chief as an outsider from Kolkata.

    Banerjee, who lives in Kalighat area of the metropolis, has left her Bhowanipore constituency in the city to battle her former cabinet minister in Nandigram.

    To counter the ‘outsider’ label, Banerjee has branded her former confidante Adhikari as ‘Mir Jafar’, a commander of Bengal’s last independent nawab Siraj ud-Daula who had betrayed the ruler at the Battle of Plassey leading to the East India Company’s victory.

    Ironically, political parties of all hues are now promising industrialisation in the region, that had tooth- and-nail opposed a chemical hub in the area proposed by the Left Front, so that people don’t have to migrate to other places for employment.

    Parties other than the TMC and BJP, however, feel that the electoral tussle in Nandigram has become a prestige issue and personal fight for both Adhikari and Banerjee over the legacy of the anti-land acquisition movement.

    “Nandigram had never before witnessed such communal polarisation as is being seen during the electoral contest between Banerjee and Adhikari, in which minority votes will play a key role,” local SUCI (C) Bhabani Prasad Das said.

    Two contrasting murals on a mud wall — one of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogan and the other of Adhikari dressed as Mir Jafar bowing before the BJP — sums up the political mood in the constituency.

    An Islamic cleric said Muslims will vote wisely as the choice is tough.

    “On one hand, Suvendu has been one of our own for many years, while on the other, Mamata di had stood by us like a rock during the movement days. The choice will be tough,” he said.

    For Adhikari, the electoral battle is that of political survival as defeat will likely stunt his growth in his new party, while victory will establish him as one of the tallest leaders in the state and push him ahead in the race for the chief minister’s post if BJP attains a majority in the 294-member assembly.

    For Banerjee, who is running for a third term as the chief minister, victory is essential not only to lead the government but also to keep her party together in the face of an unprecedented exodus.

    Nandigram has 2,57,299 voters, of whom 1,33,323 are males and 1,23,975 females.

    The assembly segment comprises two blocks — Nandigram I and Nandigram II — with the first having 35 per minority population and the second almost 15 per cent.

    Adhikari has claimed that Banerjee is fighting the polls from the seat as she believes the TMC will pocket the entire monitory vote share.

    “Out of 2,57,299 voters, around 68,000 are from the minority community. She thinks people of the minority community will vote for her. But I firmly believe that Hindus, who are against her brand of appeasement politics, will vote for me,” he had said.

    With identity politics taking centre-stage in the Nandigram election campaign, Banerjee has been using ‘soft Hindutva’ to counter Adhikari’s aggressive Hindutva campaign.

    Confident of bagging the major chunk of the minority votes, especially after Abbas Siddiqui’s Indian Secular Front (ISF) decided against contesting the seat and leaving it for alliance partner CPI(M), the feisty TMC boss is now trying to woo a section of the Hindus as well.

    From visiting 12 temples to reciting Sanskrit slokas to asserting her Brahmin identity, Banerjee has pulled all the stops to reach out to the electorate of Nandigram, especially to the majority community, as the party is now apprehensive of a Hindu consolidation in favour of the BJP.

    Apart from harping on her ‘Bangla Nijer Meyeke Chai’ (Bengal wants its daughter) poll slogan to shed the ‘outsider’ tag labelled on her by Adhikari, Banerjee is also flaunting her Brahmin identity.

    “Both Hindus and Muslims are with the TMC. We don’t need any certificate from the BJP on secularism or Hinduism. We don’t believe in dividing communities,” local party leader Swadesh Das said.

    With the cultivation of paddy and vegetables and pisciculture generating only around Rs 5,000-Rs 6,000 monthly income, almost every family has a migrant worker in Kolkata or other parts of the country.

    Unemployment and the hardships faced during the coronavirus-induced lockdown last year have prompted the locals to demand industrialisation, which they had opposed 14 years ago.

    “We want industry in Nandigram. Our children work in other states, stay there for months. Industrialisation of the area would be beneficial for all of us,” Krishnendu Mondal, the elder brother of Bharat Mondal killed during the anti-land acquisition movement here in 2007, said.

    Political parties have also adjusted their electoral promises, sensing the change in demands of the locals.

    While Banerjee has vowed to make Nandigram a “model area” by implementing several development projects including a university, Adhikari has pledged to usher in a new era of industrial growth.

    The CPI(M), which is fighting a lone battle to prove its relevance in the area it had dominated for decades, alleged that both Adhikari and Banerjee are misleading the people of Nandigram to serve their political interests.

    “When we wanted to bring industry in Nandigram, the TMC had opposed it and misled the people. Now, when people want industry, it is bringing up the issue of communal polarisation,” CPI(M) candidate Minakshi Mukherjee said.

    Mukherjee, the 34-year old firebrand orator and DYFI state president, said the Congress-Left-ISF alliance if voted to power will take people along and work towards industrialisation of the area.

    Nandigram was a CPI bastion from the 1950s to 2007, when the Left Front government’s attempt to industrialise the area backfired.

    Since 2008, Nandigram has been a TMC bastion, with party candidate Firoja Bibi winning the seat twice, in a by-election and again in 2011.

    Banerjee had nominated Adhikari in the seat in 2016 and he won by bagging near 68 per cent of the votes.

    However, with the Left and Congress pushed to the margins of the state politics, BJP has made slow and steady inroads into the area riding on anti-incumbency and identity politics.

    Communal polarisation was first witnessed in the area when the saffron camp managed to take out a massive Ram Navami rally in 2015 and many TMC supporters had even taken part in the programme.

    Riding on the Left’s declining vote share and grievances of the Hindus, the BJP made deep inroads into the area.

    The saffron party’s meteoric rise was noticed in the 2016 byelection to the Tamluk Lok Sabha seat, under which Nandigram assembly constituency falls, when it secured the second position by bagging 1,96,450 votes.

    The BJP further consolidated its position in 2019, bagging nearly 37 per cent of votes and coming runners-up.

    It is to be seen whether the BJP can improve its Lok Sabha result with the influential Adhikari family by its side.

    TMC’s Kanthi MP Sisir Adhikari also recently joined the BJP.

    “This time the fight is between the present TMC and the turncoat TMC. There is no BJP or CPI(M),” Bhaswati Jana said.

    SUCI(C)’s Manoj Kumar Das and four other independent candidates are also in the fray.