West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday filed her nomination from Nandigram for the Assembly polls. She was accompanied by Trinamool Congress State president Subrata Bakshi at the office of Subdivisional Officer (SDO), Haldia.
Before submitting her nomination, Ms. Banerjee held a road show for about one km from the Manjushree crossing to the SDO office. Thousands of people joined her in the event that saw posters with Trinamool Congress’s new slogan “Bangla Nijer Mein kei Chai (Bengal wants its own daughter)”. Earlier in the day, the Trinamool chairperson visited a temple in Nandigram.
“Nandigram is not a new place for me. When Nandigram was in the grip of violence, many brave leaders of Medinipur did not come out of their home. But I was always there,” she said, taking a swipe at Suvendu Adhikari.
Ms. Banerjee noted that she always dreamt of contesting from Singur or Nandigram, the two places synonymous with fight against forcible land acquisition.
Nandigram (Assembly seat number 210) is set to witness an important political contest in the State, with Ms. Banerjee pitted against Mr. Adhikari, a former aide and now BJP leader. Mr. Adhikari also held a rally in Nadigram on Wednesday. He said he would file his nomination papers on March 12.
DYFI State chief to contest from Nandigram
The Sanjukta Morcha, the alliance of Left parties, the Congress and the Indian Secular Front, also nominated its candidate for Nandigram. Meenakshi Mukherjee, State president of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the youth wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), has been nominated as the candidate. The seat, located in Purba Medinipur, will go to the polls on April 1.
