Suvendu Adhikari accepts challenge after Mamata Banerjee announces her candidature from Nandigram

Kolkata:BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari has welcomed TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee's decision to contest from Nandigram and reiterated that he will ensure that the chief minister is defeated in the elections.

"We welcome her (Mamata) decision to contest from Nandigram and she must stick to her declared seat of contest and we will make sure her defeat in the elections," Mr Adhikari said at BJP rally hours after the TMC announced candidates for 291 seats.

Mr Adhikari said he will ensure ruling TMC's defeat in West Bengal and saffron color will replace the green on May 2, 2021, the day results of all the 294 seats will be announced after eight-phase polls in West Bengal, beginning March 27.

Mr Adhikari, who was a follower of Ms Banerjee and turned her bitterest critic after joining the BJP in December, said they will meet again in the battle field.

"The Medinipur district is invincible and the voters here want to have their own candidate and not an outsider," Mr Adhikari said.

The outsider or "bohiragoto" is often referred by the TMC towards to towards the BJP's national leaders.

Without naming anyone, Mr Adhikari described the TMC supremo as the "outsider" for choosing to contest from Nandigram being a resident of Kolkata.

"Once the party (BJP) announces the candidate for Nandigram seat, I will again visit all the areas of the district for meeting with the people," Mr Adhikari said while adding that Ms Banjerjee should not fight election from any other seat.

Ms Banerjee declared names of the 291 candidates leaving three seats Kurseong, Kalimpong and Darjeeling-to Bimal Gurung led Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM).

The TMC also dropped Finance Minister Amit Mitra, and three others ministers including Rejjack Mollah, deputy speaker Sonali Guha and influential Bhangor MLA Arabul Islam.Guha and Islam broke down after being dropped.

In the city, three ministers were given tickets and as well as the Jadavpur.Power minister Sovandeb Chatterjee will fight from Ms Banerjee’s Bhawanipore constituency, and minister Debasish Kumar will contest from Chatterjee's s erstwhile Rashbehari seat.

In Ballygunge, Kasba, sitting MLAs and state ministers Subrata Mukherjee and Javed Ahmed Khan were given tickets.

Aroop Biswas, incumbent MLA and state minister, will contest from Tollygunge but in Jadavpur where former power minister Manish Gupta was defeated by the CPI-M’s Sujan Chakraborty in last elections, Banerjee has fielded minister Debabrata (Moloy) Majumdar.

Four other sitting MLAs and ministers from Shyampukur (Dr Sashi Panja), Maniktala (Sadhan Pandey), Beliaghata (Paresh Pal) and Entally (Swarna Kamal) will contest from their respective seats.

In South 24-Parganas, changes are relatively few since TMC lost only two out of the 31 seats in the last Assembly poll in 2016.In Behala (East) former mayor Sovan Chatterjee’s wife Ratna Chatterjee will has been declared TMC candidate.

Education minister Partha Chatterjee will contest from Behala (West), also in South 24 Parganas.Actor Lovely Moitra will contest from Sonarpur (South), replacing veteran Jinan Mukherjee.(UNI)