Suvendu Adhikadi has vowed to beat Mamata Banerjee by at least 50,000 votes in Nandigram.
The BJP' Suvendu Adhikari, once a close aide of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, today launched a fierce attack on her over the constituency of Nandigram from which the two are are contesting the upcoming state Assembly polls. Today marks the 14th anniversary of the police firing incident there in which several villagers died protesting against land acquisition by the then Communist party-led government. The Trinamool Congress chief built on the momentum gathered from that movement to go on to topple the long-standing Leftist regime of the state in 2011.
"Those who have given promotion to officers responsible for police firing have no right to observe 'Nandigram Divas'. Those who had forgotten Nandigram all these years are now coming here to seek votes," Mr Adhikari said today, according to a PTI report. The BJP's candidate's swipe at his former mentor followed her solemn comments today on the anniversary of the Nandigram firing incident.
A former Minister for Transport, Irrigation, and Water under Chief Minister Banerjee, Mr Adhikari was also an MP of her party. In December 2020, however, he quit the Trinamool and two days later joined the BJP. Ever since, he has been a critic of her government.
"Fourteen people were martyred in police firing in 2007. I have been coming here every year since 2008 to pay tribute to the sacrifices made by the people of Nandigram...Whether it is an election season or not, it hardly matters to me, unlike the opportunists who are now coming to this place," Mr Adhikari said today.
"It is ironic that those who have given promotions to police officers responsible for the Nandigram massacre are now celebrating Nandigram Divas. The TMC has also inducted some of these police officers into their party after their retirement. Don't cast a single vote in their favour who have betrayed and insulted you all," he said, according to PTI.
Viewed as a major force behind the Nandigram agitation of 2007 that eventually brought down the Leftist Buddhadeb Bhattacharya government, Mr Adhikari filed his nomination on Friday referring to himself as "Bhoomiputra" or "son of the soil". He rhetorically vowed to quit politics if he was unable to beat by 50,000 votes his former boss, Ms Banerjee, who, too, is now contesting from there.
Mr Adhikari won the seat in 2016 as a Trinamool candidate with over 67 per cent of the votes. This clash is now increasingly being viewed as the Ground Zero of the 2021 West Bengal Assembly polls.
Elections to 294-member West Bengal Assembly will be held in eight phases starting from March 27, with the final round of voting taking place on April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.