The BJP has announced that Suvendu Adhikari will be the party candidate versus Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee from Nandigram in West Bengal, setting up the most high profile contest among the states that go to elections this election season.
Suvendu Adhikari to contest West Bengal Assembly election from Nandigram seat: BJP General Secretary Arun Singh pic.twitter.com/G9HArB8HFA
— ANI (@ANI) March 6, 2021
BJP’s IT Cell head Amit Malviya said, “Mamata Banerjee will soon join the inglorious list of incumbent Chief Ministers to lose their own elections. Let the drums roll…” It was expected that Suvendu Adhikari will contest from Nandigram after Mamata Banerjee announced her candidature from the constituency.
The BJP has formally made the announcement, setting up the most anticipated fight of the election season. Nandigram is Adhikari’s home turf and simultaneously, holds special significance for Mamata Banerjee.
Nandigram is the epicenter of the political storm that propelled Mamata Banerjee to the Chief Minister’s office, helping her oust the Left from the corridors of power. During those days, Suvendu Adhikari was the architect of the Trinamool wave and Mamata’s right hand man.
Since then, a lot of bad blood has developed between the two which culminated with Adhikari’s resignation from the party. Adhikari subsequently joined the BJP. When Mamata Banerjee first announced her decision to contest the elections from the constituency, Adhikari had declared that he will quit politics if he does not defeat her by a margin of at least 50,000 votes.
After a decade, Nandigram again has the opportunity to herald the advent of a new era in Bengal politics. And this time, the battle for Nandigram is not just political, it is personal.
