BJP candidate Hasirani Rath on Saturday said her objective in the October 6 Nandigram bypoll was not just to win the seat but to increase the party's victory margin, as she announced that West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari would address two rallies in the constituency on October 2 and 4.
Campaigning amid rain, Rath moved through villages in Nandigram's Block II, travelling by toto and making door-to-door visits in Shibrampur, Hanubhuinya and Kalibari areas.
Rath says Adhikari will address two rallies
She also offered prayers at several temples as part of her campaign.
"Nandigram is Adhikari's land. He is the last word here. I will represent him. He is everything," Rath told reporters during the campaign.
She said Adhikari, who vacated the Nandigram seat after retaining Bhabanipur in south Kolkata, would campaign for her at two public meetings on October 2 and 4, the latter being the last day of campaigning for the bypoll.
BJP sets ambitious target for Nandigram
The BJP has projected the contest as a test of its organisational strength in a constituency that has acquired a strong association with Adhikari since his defeat of TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee there in the 2021 Assembly election.
Rath, the mother of slain Adhikari aide Chandranath Rath, has been fielded by the BJP in an attempt to give the contest an emotive dimension.
The candidate had, from the outset, sought to frame the election less as a conventional contest and more as a referendum on Adhikari's political hold over Nandigram.
"The opposition is busy fighting for its existence. They have no ground and nowhere to campaign. They are fighting to save their deposits. We are fighting to see how much we can increase our margin," Rath had said during her initial campaign.
The BJP has already set an ambitious target for the constituency, with Rath earlier saying the party hoped to secure 1.10 lakh votes.
TMC candidate's withdrawal reshapes bypoll
Nandigram's October 6 Assembly bypoll took a dramatic turn last week as Mamata Banerjee's candidate Sanchita Pradhan Dey withdrew from the race hours after meeting Adhikari, prompting Banerjee to back Congress nominee Milan Pradhan, who was arrested later in an old murder case.
The rapid-fire developments unfolded on a day when the Election Commission allotted new names and symbols to the two rival TMC factions after freezing the party's traditional name and "flower and grass" symbol.
Pradhan Dey, who had briefly lost her job during a major teacher recruitment scam, met Adhikari at the state secretariat Nabanna along with her husband Satyajit before withdrawing her nomination, a day ahead of the deadline.
Her withdrawal left the Mamata camp without a candidate in Nandigram even as the faction was allotted the name Mamata All India Trinamool Congress and the Football Player symbol for the bypolls. The rival faction was allotted Democratic Trinamool Congress and the Envelope symbol.
Faced with the sudden vacancy, Banerjee announced support for Milan Pradhan, describing the Congress as a "sister party" and saying the move was intended to strengthen the INDIA bloc.