Congress candidate for the Nandigram Assembly bye-elections, Milan Pradhan, was arrested on Friday in a 2007 murder case. This arrest occurred hours after West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee announced her faction's support for Pradhan.
The Congress candidate for the Nandigram Assembly bye-elections, Milan Pradhan, was arrested on Friday in a 2007 murder case. KC Venugopal, MP of the Congress, made this announcement via a social media post, stating that 'democracy is on ventilator in BJP’s West Bengal'. This arrest came minutes after Sanchita Pradhan, the previous party candidate, withdrew her nomination following online photos of her meeting West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. Venugopal accused the BJP of using 'petty intimidation tactics' to scare the Congress and vowed that they will stand tall against this misuse of power to ensure the BJP’s defeat.
In a press conference earlier in the day, Mamata Banerjee announced her faction’s support for Pradhan ‘in the greater interest of the country’ and to strengthen the Opposition INDIA bloc. The bye-poll was necessitated after Adhikari vacated the Nandigram seat, which he had won in May. Other candidates for the bye-election include Hasirani Rath from the ruling BJP, Ehteshamul Haque from the rival TMC faction, and Santigopal Giri from the Left Front.
It is important to note that the Representation of People Act allows a candidate who has won two seats to retain only one. The TMC has been beset by internal divisions and rebellions after it lost the Assembly elections to the BJP in May. Nearly 60 out of the TMC’s 80 MLAs have rebelled against the party leadership to choose Ritabrata Banerjee as the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.
Source:
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