Kolkata, 15 September (H.S.): West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday claimed that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Hasirani Rath would win the Nandigram Assembly bypoll by a record margin, saying the victory would be much larger than anyone could imagine.

Adhikari accompanied party workers to the Sub-Divisional Officer’s office in Haldia, where Hasirani Rath filed her nomination papers. Rath is the mother of late BJP worker Chandranath Rath, a close aide of the Chief Minister.

“I have experience in conducting elections. The BJP will win Nandigram by such a huge margin that nobody could have imagined it,” Adhikari said.

By-elections to the Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly constituencies will be held on October 6. The Chief Minister also addressed minority voters in both constituencies, asking whether they wanted to stand with the BJP government in the state.

He said October 6 would be a test for minority voters to decide whether they wanted to work together with the government and the Chief Minister. The decision, he said, would be theirs as to whether they wanted to pass or fail the test.

The Nandigram bypoll was necessitated after Adhikari vacated the seat to retain the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency. In the recent Assembly elections, he defeated Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee from Bhabanipur.

Referring to the killing of Chandranath Rath, Adhikari said he was brutally murdered and claimed that his biggest “crime” was helping the then Leader of the Opposition. Rath had been working as Adhikari’s personal assistant. On May 6, motorcycle-borne assailants allegedly opened fire at his car in Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas district. He succumbed to his injuries after being taken to hospital, while the driver of the vehicle was injured. The initial investigation was conducted by the state police and a Special Investigation Team before the case was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Adhikari also assured the people of Nandigram that it was his responsibility to fulfil all the promises made to the constituency. In the 2021 Assembly elections, he defeated Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram by 1,956 votes and retained the seat five years later.

The Chief Minister said that since the BJP government assumed office on May 9, it had been working on several development initiatives in the state over the past four months. He said the government would continue working for the welfare of the people of West Bengal and the progress of the state for the next 56 months.

He said the government would move ahead with the implementation of promises made in its election manifesto and Sankalp Patra, including efforts to restore Bengali heritage.

Adhikari also assured BJP workers in Nandigram who, he alleged, had faced atrocities during the previous Trinamool Congress government. He said it was his responsibility to withdraw false criminal cases registered against BJP workers. He also promised to provide work, homes and food to those who had suffered alleged atrocities.

The Rejinagar Assembly seat is also going to the polls following a vacancy. All India Janata Party chief Humayun Kabir had won both the Rejinagar and Naoda constituencies and subsequently vacated the Rejinagar seat.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh