Kolkata: Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari took oath as the Bhowanipore MLA on Wednesday but stressed that he has not forgotten Nandigram, the other constituency that sent him to the assembly in the recent polls. Adhikari, who defeated former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Bhowanipore, told reporters in the assembly complex, "Nandigram will elect someone else as MLA in a bypoll. I will not let the people there feel my absence in the next five years. I will fulfil all development promises I made to the people of Nandigram, alongside the rest of the state."
"I have not forgotten Nandigram," said the chief minister, who is a voter of the constituency in East Midnapore district. Referring to the tenure of Firoza Bibi as Nandigram's Trinamool Congress MLA from 2009 to 2016, when Adhikari was a prominent leader of that party, he said, "I had provided all support to Firoza Bibi, the mother of a martyr killed in the police firing in Nandigram in 2008... I will play a similar role this time as well."
Nandigram Voters Pledge to Hold Seat for Adhikari's Nominee
It has been five decades since a chief minister represented a Midnapore constituency, and the people of Nandigram are slightly disappointed with Suvendu Adhikari choosing Bhowanipore over his old bastion. However, in the constituency that saw the defeat of then-Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the hands of Adhikari in the 2021 polls, there is absolute trust for the son of the soil. They pledge that they will hold the seat for whoever is nominated by Adhikari to represent Nandigram.
Adhikari has been a Nandigram MLA since 2016 and was the MP of Tamluk in 2009 and 2014. Nandigram is part of the Tamluk Lok Sabha constituency.
"It would have been nice if he represented us. But now he is the face of our state. Whatever decision he takes, we are with him. We will hold Nandigram for dada," said Raju Mondal, a resident of Nandigram's Boyal.
Local BJP leaders said they were certain that the people of Nandigram would bless the representative sent by Adhikari. Meghnath Pal, Adhikari's closest aide in Nandigram, said, "We are already prepared for the upcoming election. A change has occurred in the state under the leadership of Suvendu Adhikari. He is now the state's administrative head, the chief minister. He has responsibilities. We are not at all worried that he has chosen Bhowanipore constituency over Nandigram for his legislative position. Instead, we feel proud as residents of Nandigram." Many believe Pal could get the BJP nomination from Nandigram.
Development Promises for Nandigram
Adhikari had promised to build the Haldia-Nandigram bridge and a modern residential English-medium school in Gokulnagar. An ITI was also proposed to be established in Sonachura. "I will develop Nandigram Hospital in a manner so that there is no need for any referrals. In six months, I will connect every house with water, which Mamata Banerjee did not allow," Adhikari had told Nandigram voters on May 6, during his visit after the poll win.
