Taking the electoral contest to Nandigram, the stronghold of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari, Trinamool Congress General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee held a public meeting at the constituency in Purba Medinipur on Wednesday (March 25, 2026) and said that he will personally keep a track at the developments there.
Mr. Adhikari has challenged Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur and the Trinamool Congress has decided to make things difficult for the BJP leader in return. The Trinamool Congress has fielded Pabitra Kar, a former BJP worker to contest against Mr. Adhikari. In fact, Mr. Kar, once close to Suvendu Adhikari, had joined the Trinamool Congress hours before his candidature was announced.
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“Nandigram is my responsibility. All of you take responsibility for the coming 25 days. For the next five years I will be responsible for Nandigram.” Mr. Banerjee said addressing a workers’ meeting in Nandigram on Wednesday (March 25, 2026).
The party’s second-in-command announced that if the Trinamool wins Nandigram, then the Sebaashray camp would be organised there every year. Sebaashray is a flagship initiative of Mr. Banerjee through which he organises health camps at his constituency Diamond Harbour annually.
He urged party workers to resist the BJP without fear. “A message should be conveyed to those who jump around too much that after the results are declared on May 4, that along with Rabindra Sangeet we will play DJs,” he said in a remark seen as a threat to the political opponents.
Mr. Banerjee also reflected on the results of 2021 Assembly polls, when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lost to Suvendu Adhikari by a margin of 1956 votes. The Trinamool general secretary said that he had heard reports of sabotage in the last election.
In 2021, Suvendu Adhikari received 1, 10,764 votes against Mamata Banerjee’s 1, 08,808 votes. Nandigram had over 68,000 Muslims comprising just over 26 % of the electorate. The electorate in Nandigram after the release of the final draft rolls stands at 2, 68,378. Around 10,616 were marked under adjudication after the final rolls were published on February 28.
Speaking in Nandigram, Suvendu Adhikari said that there is rumour about him that he is only an MLA for the Hindus, but during the campaign he had asked for everyone’s votes. “Muslims did not vote for me so I became an MLA with the support of the Hindu voters,” Mr. Adhikari said, speaking at a BJP workers meet.
“I came here to ask a question. Have you seen me change in any way since I have been a fighter at the ground level here in 2008, or as an MP in 2014, or as a minister in 2016, or as a Leader of Opposition in 2021?” Mr. Adhikari asked party workers attending the meeting.
The BJP leader who played a key role in the struggle against forcible land acquisition in Nandigram, said that his opponent Pabitra Kar has no contribution in the struggle and cannot even name the martyrs of the movement.
Mr. Adhikari is contesting from two constituencies Nandigram and Bhabanipur. In Bhabanipur, he is challenging Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and has said that he will defeat her for the second time.