Nandigram bypoll: Congress candidate Milan Pradhan sent to judicial custody till October 5 in 2007 agitation case
Congress’ Nandigram bypoll nominee Milan Pradhan was on Monday remanded to judicial custody till October 5 in connection with a case registered at Khejuri Police Station 19 years ago, dealing a setback to his campaign for the October 6 assembly bypoll.Pradhan was sent to judicial custody by a Contai court in West Bengal’s Purba Medinipur district, his counsel Ayan Bhattacharjee said. He added that the order would be challenged before the Calcutta high court.The development came two days after a Haldia court had remanded Pradhan to judicial custody till October 3, following his arrest on September 18 on multiple charges, including murder, linked to the 2007 Nandigram land agitation.The latest order effectively prevents Pradhan from campaigning during the final days of the bypoll campaign, which ends on October 4.The Nandigram seat was vacated by chief minister Suvendu Adhikari, who resigned in May and chose to retain Bhabanipur after defeating Mamata Banerjee in the assembly election held earlier this year.Meanwhile, Banerjee’s decision to support Pradhan has marked a significant political shift between the Trinamool Congress and Congress in Bengal. Banerjee backed the Congress candidate after her faction’s nominee, Sanchita Pradhan Dey, withdrew from the October 6 contest following a meeting with Adhikari in Kolkata.Announcing her support on September 18, Banerjee described Congress as a “sister party” and a “natural ally”, saying the decision was taken in the larger interest of the country and to strengthen the INDIA bloc.
Banerjee also said she wanted to send a message about the future of the opposition alliance beginning from Bengal.The move follows a series of political developments involving the TMC. The Election Commission had frozen the Trinamool Congress’ traditional name and ‘Jora Ghash Phul’ symbol amid an internal party dispute, assigning separate names and symbols to Banerjee’s faction and its dissidents for the upcoming bypolls in Nandigram and Rejinagar.The Congress-TMC relationship has previously seen periods of cooperation. The parties contested the 2001 Bengal assembly election together and later joined hands in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. In 2011, their alliance helped end the Left Front’s 34-year rule in Bengal.
