Congress's Nandigram candidate arrested hours after Mamata pledges support

Congress candidate Milan Pradhan was arrested by West Bengal Police on Friday in connection with three murder cases dating back to 2007, hours after former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that her faction would support him in the Nandigram bypoll.

The arrest drew sharp reactions from Banerjee and the Congress, who questioned its timing and accused the BJP-led state government of targeting the Opposition.

“The timing raises serious questions. This is the BJP’s usual formula: dig out an old case. But why now, just after we announced support for the Congress?” Banerjee wrote on X.

She



accused the BJP of using manipulation, electoral malpractice and intimidation against its political rivals. “The Election Agency-BJP partnership is killing democracy every day,” she said.

Banerjee backed Pradhan after Sanchita Pradhan De, the candidate of the Mamata-led Trinamool faction, withdrew from the contest.

She said her faction would not field a replacement candidate and would support the Congress as a show of solidarity with the INDIA alliance.

“We are ready to fight it out. I want the BJP to go from India. Our full solidarity is with the INDIA alliance,” Banerjee said at a press conference.