Trinamul turncoat Suvendu Adhikari marshalled hundreds of BJP workers for a rally in East Midnapore’s Nandigram town on Wednesday morning and used the opportunity to attack the chief minister for trying to reach out to the local Hindu community in the run-up to the polls.

Suvendu, who is scheduled to file his papers on Friday, played out the dual narrative of Hindutva and “son of Midnapore’s soil” claim as he accused Mamata Banerjee of waking up to the sentiments of Nandigram “only with an eye on votes”.

“I have requested Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath to address a rally here. Central ministers Smriti Irani and Babul Supriyo have also expressed interest in coming here,” he said while inaugurating the BJP’s campaign office in Nandigram town.

Ridiculing Mamata for visiting several temples since she landed in Nandigram on Tuesday, Suvendu said: “The same Mamata who took offence at the chanting of Jai Sri Ram on the occasion of Netaji’s 125th birth anniversary in Calcutta is now paying obeisance at our Janakinath temple…”

Suvendu then proceeded to play the radio broadcast of Mahalaya, famed amongst Bengalis as an early morning ritual heralding the Pujas, and then played Mamata’s recitation of the Chandipath verses asking the crowd to “point out the original”.

Mamata had recited the verses from a Nandigram podium on Tuesday proclaiming she was “a Hindu woman”.

“She has made no contribution to Nandigram and her promises of employment are all dubious,” Suvendu said to cheers from BJP supporters.

“Thirty thousands of our youths are migrant labourers thanks to her... She paid no heed to Nandigram when the lockdown happened, when Amphan happened.... If the BJP comes to power, we will return all the money that was stolen from you in chit funds.”