Kolkata, October 6 (Daily Kiran) : West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari expressed confidence on Tuesday that the victory margin for the BJP candidate, Hasirani Rath, in the Nandigram by-election could exceed the margin by which he won the seat in 2016.
In the 2016 elections, Adhikari secured his seat as a candidate for the Trinamool Congress with a margin of over 80,000 votes. After casting his vote at a polling booth in Nandigram, he stated, “I won by over 80,000 votes in 2016. I am sure that the BJP candidate will win by an even larger margin in this by-election.”
Demonstrating a down-to-earth approach, Adhikari arrived at the polling station in an e-rickshaw, without his convoy or security detail. He explained his choice, saying, “As a Chief Minister, I have the right to security, but today I came as a voter from Nandigram. I wanted to experience the process as an ordinary citizen. I stood in line and cast my vote without taking any special advantage of my position.”
The Chief Minister noted that voting in Nandigram was proceeding peacefully, with voters participating in the democratic process enthusiastically. He remarked on the unusually high voter turnout, which is not typically seen in by-elections.
Adhikari also clarified why he chose to contest from the Bhawanipur assembly seat in South Kolkata instead of Nandigram. He won both seats in the earlier assembly elections this year. “If I hadn’t retained Bhawanipur, my opponent would have contested the by-election from there. I defeated the same person in Nandigram in 2021, but my emotional connection with Nandigram will always remain,” he added.
Additionally, he defended the arrest of Humayun Kabir, the founder of the Aam Janata Unnayan Party and an MLA, in Murshidabad district. Adhikari stated that while Kabir is an elected representative, he is not a candidate for the Rejinagar by-election and cannot influence voters by moving from one booth to another.
Leave a Comment