The political drama surrounding the Nandigram Assembly bypoll intensified on Friday as Congress candidate Milan Pradhan was arrested in connection with an old case linked to the 2007 anti-land acquisition movement, barely hours after former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that her faction would support him in the October 6 contest.
Pradhan was picked up by police in Purba Medinipur while campaigning, with reports indicating that the case relates to the turbulent Nandigram land agitation nearly two decades ago. Congress leaders alleged that the timing of the arrest was politically motivated and accused the BJP government of attempting to intimidate the Opposition. The arrest came just as the electoral equations in the constituency had dramatically shifted following the withdrawal of Mamata faction candidate Sanchita Pradhan Dey.
Arrest during campaign
Pradhan was reportedly campaigning door-to-door around the Reyapara area of Nandigram when police took him into custody on Friday evening. He faces several old cases arising from the 2007 Nandigram movement, with the latest arrest linked to an alleged murder case from that period.
Another Congress leader, Subhasish Bhattacharya, was also arrested for allegedly attempting to prevent police from taking Pradhan into custody.
The arrest immediately triggered protests from Congress, which questioned why action was being taken against its candidate at this stage when the cases dated back nearly two decades.
Congress spokesperson Mita Chakraborty said the sequence of events raised serious questions, pointing out that Banerjee had publicly backed Pradhan only hours before his arrest. She accused the government of trying to deny political space to its opponents and said intimidation would not prevent Congress from contesting the election.
State Congress leaders also alleged political vendetta, maintaining that Pradhan had been associated with the Nandigram movement in 2007 and had faced several cases stemming from the agitation.
Mamata backing changes race
The arrest came on a day of rapidly unfolding political developments in Nandigram. Earlier on Friday, Banerjee announced that her faction would support Pradhan, describing Congress as a political ally and presenting the move as part of a wider effort to strengthen Opposition unity against the BJP.
“In Nandigram, we are going to give our support to the Congress party. It is for the greater interest of the country,” Banerjee said while announcing the decision.
Her announcement followed the withdrawal of Sanchita Pradhan Dey, who had been fielded by the Mamata-led faction for the bypoll. Dey pulled out of the race after meeting Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, a development that had already dramatically altered the contest.
Banerjee maintained that the decision to support Congress had been taken independently of Dey’s withdrawal and said her faction had considered Pradhan a strong candidate.
Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, however, said the party had not sought Banerjee’s support. He said she was free to extend support after her own candidate had withdrawn.
Echoes of 2007
Pradhan’s arrest also brings the 2007 Nandigram agitation back into the centre of the constituency’s politics. The movement against the proposed acquisition of agricultural land for an industrial project became one of the defining political battles of Banerjee’s career and contributed significantly to the weakening of the Left Front before its defeat in 2011.
Pradhan was involved in the agitation and has been named in multiple cases linked to the violence and unrest surrounding the movement. Congress leaders claimed he had been named in more than a dozen cases dating from that period.
The police action has therefore brought together two different chapters of Nandigram’s political history — the land movement that transformed Bengal politics and the present battle for control of a constituency that remains deeply symbolic for both Banerjee and Adhikari.
Bypoll sees rapid twists
Friday’s arrest was the latest in a series of dramatic developments ahead of the October 6 vote. The Election Commission has temporarily frozen the original All India Trinamool Congress name and its ‘Flowers and Grass’ symbol amid the dispute between rival factions.
Banerjee’s group has been allotted the name ‘Mamata All India Trinamool Congress’ and the ‘Football Player’ symbol for the immediate electoral contests, while the rival Trinamool faction has received a separate name and symbol.
Hours later, Dey withdrew from the Nandigram race following her meeting with Adhikari. Banerjee then backed Congress, only for Pradhan to be arrested later in the day.
Nandigram fell vacant after Adhikari, who won both Nandigram and Bhabanipur in the 2026 Assembly election, chose to retain Bhabanipur. Polling for Nandigram and Rejinagar will be held on October 6, with votes scheduled to be counted on October 9.