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West Bengal election 2021: Mamata Banerjee likely to file nomination from Nandigram today
The voting in Nandigram will take place on April 1, in the second of the eight phases of polling in West Bengal. Suvendu Adhikari won the seat in 2016, while a Trinamool Congress candidate emerged victorious from the constituency in 2011.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to file her nomination from Nanadigram for the Assembly election on Wednesday. She is taking on Suvendu Adhikari from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) setting the stage for a high-profile contest.
Adhikari, once a close aide of Banerjee switched to BJP in December last year. In the list of 57 candidates released by the BJP on Saturday, he was named as a contestant from Nandigram.
Adhikari is expected to file his nomination from the seat on March 12.
Also Watch: Mamata makes tea, serves it to locals during Nandigram visit
The election in West Bengal will be held in eight phases starting from March 27 with the final round of voting taking place on April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2. Nandigram, the cradle of the anti-land acquisition movement that catapulted Banerjee to power in 2011, will witness polling on April 1, in the second of the eight phases of polling.
While Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) is aiming to return to power for the third consecutive time, the BJP has vowed to stop that from happening. Buoyed by its strong performance in the Lok Sabha election in 2019, the party is looking to emerge as serious contender in race to power in the state.
Banerjee has accused the BJP of playing the communal card and said they will suffer humiliating defeat in polls.
"They are insulting the sacred Nandigram movement and playing the communal card. People of Nandigram will make BJP 'April fool' on April 1 during the polling," the chief minister asserted on Tuesday.
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She is already in Nandigram where she visited a temple and a mausoleum yesterday. As she entered the temple, women, who lined up next to the shrine, blew conch shells to greet her. At the mausoleum, too, she was extended a warm welcome.
Banerjee also stopped at a roadside stall, where she prepared tea for the customers, much to the astonishment of the shop owner.
Adhikari won the Nandigram seat in the 2016 assembly election, while another TMC candidate emerged victorious from the constituency in 2011.
