Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said that she will “avenge” her 2021 Assembly poll defeat in Nandigram to the BJP's Suvendu Adhikari, a known Mamata-baiter.
Mamata gave her dare at Adhikari's home turf Haldia in East Midnapore while campaigning for Trinamool's Tamluk candidate Debangshu Bhattacharya pitted against the BJP's Abhijit Gangopadhyay.
“Let me make it clear that I will avenge my defeat in Nandigram. I have not forgotten it. BJP will not be there all the time, neither the ED nor the CBI will cradle him (Adhikari) throughout his life. Not even the NIA or the income tax department will be with him forever. I will settle the score at any cost,” Mamata said at the public meeting in Haldia.
In 2021, Adhikari, who defected to the saffron camp from Trinamool, had contested against Mamata from Nandigram. After the results were announced, it was found that he had won by 1,956 votes.
However, Mamata had alleged that Adhikari had tampered with the poll results. Trinamool had even moved court.
On Thursday, she repeated her charge again. “They had changed the district magistrate and the superintendent of police (of East Midnapore) district ahead of the elections. On the poll day, they snapped power supply in a planned manner to change the results,” said Mamata.
The chief minister, who was also instrumental in the anti-land acquisition movement in Nandigram during Left rule in 2007, slammed Adhikari and his father Sisir Adhikari without naming them.
“The father-son had got into an understanding with the CPM and carried out the massacre in Nandigram. It will be proved in due course. They didn’t come out of their homes those days and it was me on the streets with people,” said Mamata, referring to the 2007 incident of police firing at Nandigram which claimed at least 14 lives.
Such assertion from Mamata ahead of the polls in Tamluk and Kanthi Lok Sabha seats — Adhikari’s brother Soumendu is contesting from Kanthi seat from the BJP camp against Trinamool's Uttar Barik — hints that she intends to mount pressure on the Adhikaris by raking up the 17-year-old issue.
In 2019, Trinamool won both seats. Later, like Adhikari, both MPs Sisir Adhikari and Dibyendu Adhikari sided with the BJP. Dibyendu is also Adhikari's brother
Political observers pointed out that in 2019, BJP’s score was 18 Lok Sabha seats without these two seats.
“This time as the saffron camp has set a target to win over 30 seats in Bengal and Suvendu Adhikari is determined to secure both Tamluk and Kanthi seats for his party, Mamata is pulling all stops to retain them,” said an observer.
That Mamata is determined to prove Trinamool’s support base on Adhikari's home turf was evident as she led a rally in Contai, the hometown of the Adhikaris, and walked for 3km with her party leaders.
Around one lakh people from across the district reached Contai to walk in the rally or to watch Mamata.
“We have proved today that our party (Trinamool) still has a strong support base in Kanthi. Suvendu Adhikari might make tall claims but we are confident of retaining Kanthi and even the Tamluk seats,” said Akhil Giri, a state minister and the Trinamool MLA of Ramnagar.
Earlier, in Haldia, Mamata also scoffed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his “guarantee” narrative.
“I will not address him by his surname but will refer to him as ‘Guarantee Babu.’ Whatever claims he has made are false," said the chief minister. "He (the prime minister) has not provided food grains to people, free LPG and free power supply. His guarantees are 420 guarantees (420 means fraud in layman's language)."
The chief minister also elaborated on the slew of infrastructure developments carried out in East Midnapore, including those in tourist destinations like Digha. "There have been major developments in this district and no one other than our government has done them,” she said.
