With union ministers on his side, Adhikari files nomination
HALDIA: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari filed his nomination on Friday from the Nandigram seat against his mentorturned-adversary Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, and said he was “100% confident” of his victory.
Adhikari filed his papers at the sub-divisional office in Haldia after leading a kilometrelong roadshow. Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Smriti Irani took part in the rally before Adhikari filed the nomination papers. “The people of the area are with me. I am the son of the soil,” Adhikari, who switched over to the BJP in December, told reporters. Adhikari won the Nandigram seat as a TMC candidate in 2016.
HALDIA: BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari filed his nomination on Friday from the Nandigram seat against his mentor-turned-adversary Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, and said he was “100 per cent” confident of his victory.
Adhikari filed his papers at the sub-divisional office in Haldia after leading a-km-long roadshow. Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Smriti Irani took part in the rally before Adhikari filed the papers.
“I am 100 per cent confident of my victory in Nandigram.
The people of the area are with me. I am the son of the soil,” he told reporters.
Adhikari, who switched over to the BJP in December, is up against the chief minister who decided to challenge him at his home ground.
Banerjee has already filed her nomination from the constituency on Wednesday. Adhikari won the Nandigram seat as a TMC candidate in 2016 by bagging over 67 per cent of the votes, defeating his nearest CPI rival by a margin of 81,230 votes.
The Left-led Grand Alliance has fielded CPI(M)’s youth leader Minakshi Mukherjee from the seat.
Earlier in the day, Adhikari urged people not to vote for “outsiders”, as he flayed the ruling party for betraying trust of the people. “I would appeal everyone not to waste your votes in favour of outsiders, who have betrayed your trust and aspirations after coming to power in 2011,” Adhikari said,without naming Banerjee.
Adhikari has been calling himself “bhoomiputra” (son of the soil) and dubbing Banerjee as an outsider in Nandigram as she does not cast her vote there.