West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday filed her nomination papers from the high-profile Nandigram Assembly seat in Purba Medinipur district. The TMC chief is set to challenge her rival and BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari who will file the nomination on March 12.
Before filing nomination, the TMC supremo Mamata arrived in Nandigram and began her poll campaign by visiting a temple and a mausoleum. She is expected to release TMC manifesto on March 11 on the occasion of Mahashivaratri.
Vacating her own seat of Bhowanipore in Kolkata, Mamata earlier this month had announced to contest from the Nandigram seat in the upcoming West Bengal assembly polls.
She announced her candidature from the Nandigram seat after her close aide for years, Suvendu Adhikari switched sides to the Bharatiya Janata Party and announced to contest polls from the same constituency.
This turned Nandigram seat the most important battleground as it is the stronghold of Suvendu Adhikari who recently joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. Notably, he had won the same seat as a TMC candidate in 2016 elections. Adhikari is considered to be a very strongman in this constituency, who was not just the face of the Trinamool, but also the face of the party’s land protest on the ground.
The state assembly election will be held for all 294 seats wherein the voting will take place in 1,01,916 polling stations all over West Bengal. Elections to the 294-member Assembly will be held in eight phases, from March 27 to April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2. The magic figure to be the ruling party in the West Bengal Assembly is 148.