Suvendu dares Mamata to contest from Bhawanipore, says she would suffer crushing defeat; TMC retorts

Kolkata, Mar 12 (PTI) Senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday challenged West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to contest the 2026 assembly elections from Bhawanipore, asserting that she would face a 'crushing defeat' in her home constituency, a remark that drew a sharp retort from the TMC.

"You will be defeated in Bhawanipore as well. You will have to endure the pain of another loss for five more years, just like in Nandigram," Adhikari, the leader of the opposition in the Assembly said, told reporters outside the House.

The remarks came in response to Banerjee's sharp criticism of the BJP during her speech in the House, where she targeted the saffron party and took a swipe at Adhikari, without naming him.

She accused him of switching parties for personal gains and suggested that he was now looking to change sides again.

Adhikari, a former Trinamool Congress leader who defeated Banerjee in Nandigram in the 2021 elections, hit back at the CM, accusing her of betraying leaders like Rajiv Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee despite their support at crucial junctures in her political career.

"Had the Nandigram movement not happened, you would have never become the chief minister. Your only credit is driving away investors like Tata and turning Bengal into an industrial graveyard," he said.

He also accused Banerjee of "minority appeasement" and claimed that her "opportunistic politics" had been exposed to BJP legislators in the Assembly.

"You are anti-Hindu. You want to turn West Bengal into Bangladesh. Your real character is now evident to the people," he alleged.

Banerjee, a resident of Bhawanipore, had won the seat in 2011 and 2016 before shifting to Nandigram in 2021 to take on Adhikari in his stronghold.

While her party secured a third consecutive term in office with a landslide victory, she lost in Nandigram. She later won the Bhawanipore seat in a bypoll.

Earlier in the day, Adhikari staged a protest outside the Assembly, sitting on the ground in response to Banerjee's comments.

He claimed that his only fault was defeating her in the 2021 elections and speaking against attacks on Hindus and tribal communities.

TMC leader and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sovandev Chatterjee hit back, accusing Adhikari of violating his oath as an MLA by spreading falsehoods and communal rhetoric.

"By peddling falsehoods and poisoning minds against minority communities, Adhikari is acting against India's secular and pluralistic values. He will face a crushing defeat at the hands of the people of Bengal," Chatterjee said.

Senior TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said "let Suvendu fight from this seat. We will ensure he is defeated by a record margin," PTI SUS PNT MNB