Kolkata, September 19 (Daily Kiran) : In Kolkata, the political landscape is heating up as Shafiul Islam, an independent candidate for the upcoming by-election in the Rejinagar assembly constituency, was arrested on Saturday. This follows the arrest of Congress candidate Milan Pradhan just one day earlier.
Shafiul Islam had submitted his nomination papers for the October 6 by-election on September 14. Police apprehended him in the Domkal area of Murshidabad district. He is expected to be presented in court on Sunday. His residence is in the village of Batuknathpur, under the jurisdiction of the Nauda police station.
Authorities indicated that prior to the 2026 assembly elections, a significant clash occurred between members of the Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) and Trinamool Congress activists in the Patikabari area of Nauda. Shafiul Islam was named as a suspect in that incident and had reportedly been evading arrest.
However, AJUP leaders are asserting that his arrest is politically motivated. They argue that although Shafiul is running as an independent, he is actually the party’s block president in Nauda. Golam Nabi Azad, also known as Robin, the son of AJUP MLA Humayun Kabir, is contesting as the party’s candidate from Rejinagar.
Sources within the party revealed that Shafiul was strategically positioned as a ‘dummy’ candidate to ensure the party’s symbol remains in play, even if the main candidate’s nomination is challenged.
Robin expressed strong disapproval of the arrest, stating, “Elections cannot be fought like this. As soon as the election was announced, party workers are being arrested on old false charges. How can people be expected to vote for us? This is a tactic to intimidate the opposition.” He further noted that the use of a dummy candidate is a common electoral strategy, and Shafiul’s arrest indicates that the ruling party is fearful.
On Friday, Milan Pradhan was also arrested in connection with four older cases related to the Nandigram by-election, which is also scheduled for October 6. His involvement dates back to a murder case from the Nandigram movement in 2007. He was presented in Haldia Court, which ordered him to be held in judicial custody for 14 days.
Tensions are clearly rising as these arrests unfold, underscoring the volatile nature of Bengal’s political scene ahead of the critical elections.
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