Nandigram wasn't the end? Suvendu Adhikari takes fight to Mamata Banerjee's turf Bhabanipur

West Bengal Elections 2026 | BJP's Suvendu Adhikari on Monday filed his nomination from Nandigram, the constituency where he defeated Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in 2021, and signalled that the contest this time could extend beyond it - to Bhabanipur, the chief minister's current seat.

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"Compared to 2021, Nandigram is easier this time," Adhikari said after filing his papers in Haldia, following a roadshow attended by Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan and BJP leader Dilip Ghosh.

He pointed to changes in voter dynamics since the last election. "In 2021, by the numbers, Nandigram was a tough seat. At that time, there were around 64,000 Muslim votes, and Mamata Banerjee had misled them by equating the Citizenship Amendment Act with the NRC. Now people have understood. Muslims, too, understand they will get security and good governance under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Hindus have become even more united. So Nandigram is easier now."

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The remarks revisit a contest that defined the 2021 Assembly election. Adhikari, then a former Trinamool Congress leader who had switched to the BJP months earlier, defeated Banerjee in Nandigram by 1,956 votes after a prolonged counting process marked by recounts and competing claims.

That election transformed Nandigram into a political symbol. Once the site of protests against land acquisition in 2007 - a movement that helped propel Banerjee to power in 2011 - it became the ground where she lost to her former ally.

Adhikari himself had emerged as a key figure during the 2007 agitation, building influence in coastal Bengal before winning Nandigram in 2016 as a Trinamool Congress candidate. His switch to the BJP ahead of the 2021 polls turned the constituency into the centre of a direct contest with Banerjee.

After her defeat, Banerjee returned to the Assembly through a bypoll from Bhabanipur, a south Kolkata seat she has represented for years.

Now, the rivalry appears to be shifting there.

The BJP has fielded Adhikari against Banerjee in Bhabanipur, turning the constituency into one of the most closely watched contests of the 2026 election.

Adhikari suggested that the party sees the seat as winnable. "After the SIR, Bhabanipur has already become BJP's seat," he said, referring to the special intensive revision of electoral rolls.

He also alleged that earlier outcomes in the constituency were influenced by irregularities. "I will not be the first BJP winner from Bhabanipur. In 2014, when Modi first became prime minister, the BJP had led in the Bhabanipur assembly segment during the Lok Sabha election," he said.

His campaign plan reflects the dual focus. He said he would continue campaigning in Nandigram and across the state until the first phase of polling on April 23, before shifting to Kolkata. "From the morning of April 24, I will stay in Bhabanipur. On April 29, after defeating Mamata Banerjee and sealing the strong room, I will leave Bhabanipur. Then we will meet again on May 4."

For the Trinamool Congress, Bhabanipur remains a political stronghold and a test of leadership credibility. For the BJP, it represents an opportunity to challenge Banerjee in her home turf after the Nandigram result.

Nandigram, meanwhile, continues to carry political weight. It is associated with the 2007 protests, the decline of the Left, Banerjee's rise, and the BJP’s emergence as a challenger capable of defeating the chief minister.

Bhabanipur: Mamata's turf, but is the ground shifting?

Bhabanipur has about 1,59,201 electors, with a mixed profile - roughly 42 per cent Bengali Hindus, 34 per cent non-Bengali Hindus and about 24 per cent Muslims.

The BJP is targeting specific segments within this electorate, focusing on Bengali-speaking Hindus and non-Bengali Hindu communities, particularly traders from Gujarat and Rajasthan's Marwar region, which have traditionally shown support for the party.

Electoral trends suggest a tightening contest. While Banerjee secured a margin of 58,832 votes in the 2021 by-election, the TMC's lead in the same Assembly segment during the Kolkata South Lok Sabha election dropped to 8,297 votes in 2024.

Part of Kolkata South Lok Sabha, Bhabanipur covers upscale areas like Alipore, Ballygunge, and Hazra.

TMC has dominated the last three elections: in 2021, Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay won with 73,505 votes (57.71%) against BJP's Rudranil Ghosh; Mamata Banerjee triumphed in 2016 with 65,520 votes (47.67%) over Congress's Deepa Dasmunshi; and Subrata Bakshi secured 87,903 votes (64.77%) in 2011 against CPM's Narayan Prasad Jain.