Congress-nominated candidate for the October 6 Nandigram Assembly bypoll was arrested in connection with an old murder case in West Bengal’s Purba Medinipur district on Friday evening, hours after former chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced that her party would support him after TMC's candidate withdrew from the contest.
Milan Pradhan was arrested a day before the September 19 deadline for filing nominations. Police sources said he was allegedly involved in the murder case and that an arrest warrant had been issued against him.
The arrest came soon after Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress withdrew its candidate, Sanchita Pradhan Dey, from the high-profile Nandigram contest and announced its support for Pradhan.
Sanchita withdrew her nomination shortly after meeting West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari at the state PWD tent on Red Road in Kolkata on Friday afternoon.
The developments have added to the political uncertainty surrounding Nandigram, which has emerged as a key battleground between Banerjee and Adhikari. Adhikari defeated Banerjee in Nandigram in the 2021 Assembly election and won the seat again in the 2026 polls.
Mamata questioned the timing of the arrest, she alleged that it reflected the BJP's "politics of vendetta".
"Minutes after we extended our support to the Congress candidate for the bypoll in Nandigram, the Congress candidate Milan Pradhan was arrested," Banerjee said in a post on X.
She said the timing of the arrest raises serious questions and alleged that the BJP was following its "usual formula" of digging out an old case.
"But why now? Just after we announced support to the Congress!" she said, questioning the circumstances surrounding the action.
Banerjee further alleged that the BJP's "politics of vendetta and atrocities" showed a clear pattern and accused the Election Commission and the BJP of working in tandem.
"With manipulation, with vote loot, with intimidation, the Election Agency-BJP partnership is killing democracy every day," she alleged.
In the April 2026 Assembly elections, Adhikari contested from both Nandigram and Bhabanipur, Banerjee’s home turf in south Kolkata, and won both seats. He later resigned from Nandigram, triggering the bypoll.
Congress alleged that Pradhan’s arrest was politically motivated and accused the BJP of attempting to eliminate opposition in the state.
“Today, a case has been framed suddenly and thus BJP wants to implement a one-party rule in the state. Won’t there be any opposition in the country? Milan’s arrest is a political vendetta of the BJP,” Bengal Pradesh Congress president Subhankar Sarkar said.
The BJP rejected the allegation, saying the police had acted according to law and that the arrest had no connection with politics.
The BJP has fielded Hasirani Rath, mother of Chandranath Rath, Adhikari’s slain personal assistant, from Nandigram. The Left Front, Indian Secular Front and a rebel Trinamool faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee have also fielded candidates.
Announcing her party’s support for Pradhan from her Kalighat residence on Friday, Banerjee said that her party would announce its strategy for the Rejinagar bypoll later.
Banerjee also attacked the Election Commission over its decision to bar the two rival Trinamool factions from using the All India Trinamool Congress name and its reserved ‘Jora Ghash Phul’ symbol in the upcoming bypolls.
“Today is a black day in the history of democracy, which is unfortunate, unconstitutional, anti-democratic and politically biased. It’s just fulfilling the interests of a particular political party,” she alleged.
The Election Commission on Friday allotted separate names and symbols to the two rival factions ahead of the October 6 bypolls.
The Banerjee-led faction was allotted the name ‘Mamata All India Trinamool Congress’ and the ‘Football Player’ symbol, while the faction led by Arup Roy was named ‘Democratic Trinamool Congress’ and allotted the ‘Envelope’ symbol, according to an EC order.
The decision came a day after the poll panel barred both factions from using the All India Trinamool Congress name and its reserved ‘Jora Ghash Phul’ symbol for the bypolls. The factions were subsequently asked to submit their preferred names and symbols.
The EC said the proposed names could retain a linkage with AITC, while the symbols had to be selected from its list of free symbols available to Independents and registered unrecognised political parties.