Nandigram Bypoll in Turmoil: Candidate Quits, Congress Pick Arrested
Nandigram bypoll plunged into chaos as Mamata Banerjee's candidate withdrew and Congress nominee Milan Pradhan was arrested in an old murder case, sparking a political row.
The Nandigram by-election was thrown into extraordinary uncertainty on Friday as a series of rapid developments upended the contest in one of West Bengal's most closely watched constituencies.
First, the candidate fielded by Mamata Banerjee's faction withdrew from the race after a meeting with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. Her camp then decided to extend support to the Congress nominee, Milan Pradhan. Within hours, Pradhan was arrested in connection with an old 2007 murder case while he was campaigning door-to-door in the Reyapara area around 5:30 pm.
The arrest drew a sharp political response. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi described it as an act of "political revenge" and accused the BJP of trying to eliminate the electoral contest rather than fight it. He said the arrest was "no coincidence" and alleged it amounted to a "murder of democracy", adding that the Congress would neither fear nor bow down and would "fight and win".
Hitting back, Democratic Trinamool Congress leader Ritabrata Banerjee said his faction had itself lodged the complaint against Pradhan. He claimed three murder cases were pending against the Congress candidate and that police action followed an existing warrant, adding that the state Congress leadership had probably not apprised Gandhi of the actual details.
Police sources said Pradhan was named as an accused in multiple cases dating back to the 2007 Nandigram land-acquisition agitation, and that arrest warrants had been pending against him. Three of the four warrants relate to cases involving murder charges under Section 302 of the IPC, which now corresponds to Section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The cases include Nandigram Police Station Case No. 75/07, 221/07 and 188/07, and Khejuri Police Station Case No. 44/07.
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said the coming together of anti-BJP forces had rattled the ruling party, claiming that the District Magistrate had raised no objections when the candidate filed his affidavit and that the BJP was now panicking as the political tide turned in the Congress's favour.
The sequence of events transformed a contest already marked by old rivalries, rebel factions and fresh alliances into a political and legal battle, adding another dramatic layer to a constituency steeped in political history.