Haldia (WB), Sep 15 : West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday asserted that BJP candidate Hasirani Rath, the mother of his slain aide Chandranath Rath, will win the Nandigram bypoll by a record margin.
Adhikari also asked minority voters in Nandigram and Rejinagar assembly seats, where by-elections will be held on October 6, to decide whether they will support the BJP government in the state or not.
He walked along with party workers to the SDO office here for the submission of nomination papers of Hasirani Rath.
Noting that he knows how to conduct the polls, Adhikari assured the gathering that the BJP will win by “such a big margin in Nandigram that no one has ever imagined”.
The Nandigram by-election was necessitated after Adhikari vacated the seat and retained the Bhabanipur assembly constituency, where he had defeated TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee in the elections held a few months ago.
“Chandra was brutally murdered. I feel that his biggest crime was that he had assisted the then leader of the opposition,” Adhikari said.
Chandranath, who had served as Adhikari’s personal assistant, was travelling in a car at Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas district on May 6 when motorcycle-borne assailants allegedly fired at him. He died after being taken to hospital, while the driver was injured.
The case, initially probed by the state police and a special investigation team, was subsequently handed over to the CBI.
Seeking to reassure the people of Nandigram, the chief minister said, “It is my responsibility to fulfil all the promises I made to the people of the constituency.”
In the 2021 elections, Adhikari had defeated Banerjee in Nandigram by 1,956 votes and won the seat again five years later.
Referring to minority voters, the chief minister said, “October 6 will be your test of whether you want to be with the government and the chief minister and work hand-in-hand. I leave it to you whether you want to pass or fail in the test.”
Both Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district and Rejinagar in Murshidabad have a significant percentage of minority voters.
Rejinagar fell vacant after AJUP chief Humayun Kabir, who had won from both Rejinagar and Nowda, relinquished the former seat.
Noting that the BJP government in the state has been taking a slew of development initiatives for the last four months since taking over the charge on May 9, the chief minister said it will work for the next 56 months for the welfare of the people and progress of West Bengal.
“We will take forward the work to meet our promises and those in the ‘Sankalp Patra ‘ (poll manifesto), such as restoration of Bengali heritage in the next 56 months,” he said.
Adhikari reiterated that all the BJP workers, who had suffered atrocities during the previous TMC rule in Nandigram, would be provided with work, shelter and food.
“It is my responsibility to withdraw false criminal cases instituted against all BJP workers in Nandigram. It is my promise to provide work, shelter and food for all those party workers who had faced atrocities,” he said.
Adhikari said 67,000 women of the constituency have started getting the benefit of ‘Annapurna Yojana’, while 8,000 got the second tranche of benefits and over 13,000 people received the first tranche of assistance of housing financing scheme.
‘Annapurna Yojana’ is a scheme to provide women beneficiaries with financial assistance of Rs 3,000 per month.
Stating that the people of Nandigram will continue to get all the government services till 2031 as they have been receiving now, he said he will again come to cast his vote on October 6 bypoll day.
Adhikari said he may come here once before the polls if he gets the opportunity. (PTI)
