Kolkata, March 20 – Even a couple of hours before the Trinamool Congress announced its candidate list on March 17 for the upcoming two-phase Assembly elections in West Bengal next month, no one knew who the party's candidate would be in Nandigram, in the East Midnapore district, against sitting two-time legislator and Leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari.
Things became clear just an hour before the announcement, as the party quickly arranged for Pabitra Kar, a local BJP leader from Nandigram and a former close confidant of Adhikari, to join the Trinamool Congress.
The grand welcome given to Kar in the presence of Trinamool Congress general secretary and Lok Sabha member, Abhishek Banerjee, made it clear that Kar would be the ruling party's candidate against Adhikari in his stronghold.
Later, the candidate list confirmed Kar as the Trinamool nominee from Nandigram.
Political observers believe that, given the current situation in East Midnapore, especially Nandigram, Kar is the best possible option against Adhikari, considering his long grassroots connection and awareness of Adhikari's strengths and weaknesses.
A city-based political observer noted that since the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, East Midnapore became associated with the Adhikari family and the Trinamool Congress. However, since the 2021 Assembly elections, the district remained an Adhikari stronghold, with the family shifting allegiance to the BJP.
The stronghold held even in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, when BJP candidates won both constituencies in East Midnapore with high margins.
In this situation, the Trinamool Congress sought someone rooted in the district, and Kar emerged as the choice.
In the 2021 Assembly polls, Adhikari won Nandigram by a margin of less than 2,000 votes, defeating Trinamool's candidate and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who later won a by-election from Bhabanipur in South Kolkata to retain her chair for a third consecutive term.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Nandigram gave BJP's winning candidate from Tamluk, former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay, a margin of 7,298 votes.
This time, Adhikari is contesting simultaneously from Bhabanipur, where the Trinamool Congress has fielded the Chief Minister again.
The schedule of the two-phase polls allows Adhikari to balance campaigning between both constituencies.
Nandigram goes to the polls in the first phase on April 23, while Bhabanipur votes in the second phase on April 29.