Pabitra Kar: TMC’s grassroots challenger in the high-stakes Nandigram battle

Pabitra Kar is contesting from Nandigram as a TMC candidate in a high-profile 2026 election, where the main battle is with BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari.

Pabitra Kar, once a key strategist for BJP's Suvendu Adhikari, is now the face of the Trinamool Congress’s (TMC) campaign to reclaim Nandigram. With the 2026 Assembly elections ongoing, the focus remains on this Purba Medinipur stronghold, which has already cast its ballots in one of the state's most anticipated contests.

TMC candidate from Nandigram constituency Pabitra Kar shows his ink-marked finger after casting vote during the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly election, in Nandigram, Purba Medinipur district, Thursday, April 23. (PTI)

The shift in Kar’s political loyalty has defined the rivalry in this constituency. By fielding a former BJP leader who deeply understands Adhikari’s local network, the TMC has turned a traditional party battle into a showdown. The election outcome now rests on whether the former aide can successfully dismantle the influence of his former mentor.

Five facts about Pabitra Kar

• Pabitra Kar began his political journey with the Trinamool Congress and served as the pradhan of Boyal-1 gram panchayat in Nandigram-2 block, Purba Medinipur.
• During the politically significant Nandigram movement of 2007–08, he worked closely with then-TMC leader Suvendu Adhikari and was part of the local organisational network that strengthened the party in the region.
• In November 2020, Kar left the TMC and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, shortly before Suvendu Adhikari himself resigned from the TMC in December 2020.
• In the BJP, he served as vice-president of the Tamluk district organisation and helped expand the party’s booth-level structure in Nandigram. He was considered part of the local network that supported Adhikari’s narrow 1,956-vote victory over Mamata Banerjee in the 2021 Assembly elections. His wife also won a panchayat seat on a BJP ticket and became head of Boyal-2 Gram Panchayat.
• Ahead of the the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, Kar rejoined the Trinamool Congress in the presence of Abhishek Banerjee and was immediately fielded as the party’s candidate from Nandigram.
• West Bengal’s Assembly elections 2026 are being conducted in two phases. While the first phase has already been completed, the second phase of voting is now round the corner, with results scheduled to be declared on May 4.