Kolkata, Oct. 4 -- As political parties made a final push to woo voters in Nandigram and Rejinagar on the last day of by-election campaigning, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari sought a bigger turnout of voters in the October 6 bypoll and a higher margin of victory for the BJP candidate than his during the Assembly polls earlier this year.

Adhikari also said the BJP had not received minority votes in the last three elections and hoped that the situation could change this time. "Let us see whether Muslims want Ram Rajya now. We do not force anyone to say Jai Shri Ram," he said.

While holding a rally for his party's candidate, Hasirani Rath, the mother of Adhikari's slain close aide Chandranath Rath, in Nandigram, Adhikari again alleged that former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had staged a false campaign over the leg injury she suffered while campaigning in Nandigram during the 2021 Assembly elections. Adhikari also called for a probe into the matter, saying he would announce further steps after the Model Code of Conduct ends. Campaigning for the October 6 bypolls to the two West Bengal Assembly constituencies ended on Sunday evening.

"The people of Nandigram were disrespected over this incident. Take a look at this document: 'No evidence of fracture or dislocation', dated March 11, 2021, from the Bangur Institute of Neurosciences," Adhikari said, adding: "Once the election code of conduct ends, the CID investigation will continue... If someone runs a fake campaign, insults the people of Nandigram, conducts a media trial and misleads the people of Bengal, action will be taken against them."

Nandigram by-elections drew political attention

for many reasons. In Nandigram, Congress candidate Milan Pradhan carried out an intensive

campaign since Thursday, when he returned to the constituency after securing bail from the Calcutta High Court. Pradhan was arrested on September 18 in connection with six cases dating back to the 2007 anti-land acquisition agitation in Nandigram. His arrest came after former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee extended her TMC faction's support to him following the withdrawal of its candidate Sanchita Pradhan Dey from the contest. Dey withdrew after a meeting with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.

Apart from the BJP and Congress, the Left, the Indian Secular Front (ISF) and the Democratic Trinamool Congress, led by Ritabrata Banerjee, are also contesting the Nandigram bypoll. Rejinagar, in Murshidabad, on the other hand is witnessing a multi-cornered contest involving the BJP, Congress, Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) and the two TMC factions. Campaigning also intensified in Rejinagar on the last day.

An Independent candidate in the Rejinagar bypoll was arrested last month in connection with a five-year-old case involving a clash between two groups during the 2021 state Assembly elections. Polling for the two constituencies will be held on October 6, while counting of votes is scheduled for October 9.

The two bypolls were necessitated after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari vacated Nandigram, which he had won along with Bhawanipore, while Rejinagar fell vacant after AJUP chief Humayun Kabir retained Nawda after winning both seats in this year's Assembly elections.

While holding a roadshow from Rajaram Chowk to Mir Bazar on Sunday in support of BJP candidate Hasirani Rath, he continued his attack on his predecessor over her leg injury. Trinamool Congress leader Abu Taher, a close aide of Mamata Banerjee, showered flowers on Adhikari alongside his wife.

He further alleged that the previous TMC government "misused" the CID to frame BJP leaders in an attempt-to-murder case following Mamata Banerjee's "false claims" of a leg injury during the 2021 polls.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.