Union Home Minister Amit Shah during an election campaign rally on Thursday for filing nomination of BJP candidates Suvendu Adhikari from Bhabanipur, Swapan Dasgupta from Jadavpur and Shotorupa from Ballygunge.
| Photo Credit: DEBASISH BHADURI
Stepping up the electoral challenge against Trinamool Congress chairperson and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in her constituency at Bhabanipur, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday (April 2, 2026) joined Bharatiya Janata Party leader Suvendu Adhikari in a roadshow before the latter filed his nomination from the constituency.
Addressing a gathering of BJP supporters before Mr. Adhikari submitted the papers to contest in the Assembly election, Mr. Shah said that the “shortcut” to bring about poribortan (change) in West Bengal passes through Bhabanipur segment.
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The Union Minister said that Mr. Adhikari wanted to contest from Nandigram. “I told him, not just Nandigram. You have to enter Mamata Banerjee’s home turf and defeat her there,” Mr. Shah pointed out.
‘Mamata lost in 2021’
The BJP leader recalled that despite returning to power in 2021, Ms. Banerjee lost in Nandigram to Mr. Adhikari.
“She formed the government in Bengal, but she lost in Nandigram to Suvendu Adhikari. This time she will lose not only in the entire State, but in Bhabanipur too,” the Minister said, while urging the electorate of Bhabanipur that for the “liberation of the entire State, ensure a massive victory for our candidate Suvendu Adhikari”.
Mr. Shah said for ushering in a political change in the State, the BJP would have to win 170 seats out of a total 294 to form the government with a comfortable majority, but a victory for Mr. Adhikari in Bhabanipur alone would automatically bring change to the State’s politics.
After defecting from the Trinamool Congress in 2020, Leader of Opposition Mr. Adhikari has emerged as the tallest leader of BJP in West Bengal and the party has taken the gamble of fielding him from Nandigram and Bhabanipur.
Mr. Shah turned the filing of the nomination paper of Mr. Adhikari and three other BJP candidates into a high-voltage political spectacle by accompanying the BJP candidates for the submission.
The Minister said that he will be staying in West Bengal for 15 days during the Assembly election. The roadshow for nomination began from Hazra crossing amid heavy security and moved through the heart of Bhabanipur not far from the residence of the Chief Minister.
The situation turned volatile when the BJP rally reached near Ms. Banerjee’s residence. The supporters of Trinamool Congress and BJP confronted and shouted slogans at each other.
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Bhabanipur has emerged as a prestige fight for both the Trinamool Congress and the BJP. Ms. Banerjee has claimed that about 40,000 electors have been deleted from the constituency during SIR process. There are eight wards in Bhabanipur and the BJP had led by 1,468 votes in that ward in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. The BJP was leading in five wards of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation while the Trinamool Congress led in three wards.
The Chief Minister, who is busy campaigning across the State, has given responsibility of managing the Assembly seat to key party leaders like Subarata Bakshi, Firhad Hakim and Javed Khan. The constituency will go to polls in the second phase on April 29.
Published – April 02, 2026 01:04 pm IST
