Kolkata, Aug 31: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday highlighted his government's work in Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district, urging people to help him improve his previous victory margin in the upcoming bypoll and claiming that his administration was addressing years of neglect under the previous TMC government.
Addressing a programme of the panchayat and rural development department in Nandigram where several rural development and infrastructure projects, including roads, bridges and healthcare were launched, Adhikari repeatedly invoked his political association with the area and recalled the anti-land acquisition movement that had catapulted it to the centre of West Bengal politics.
He appealed to the gathering to surpass the 82,000-vote margin he cited as his previous electoral mandate from the assembly seat, turning the development programme into an appeal for a stronger political endorsement.
"Nandigram remains the priority. You had elected me, and I have been serving as chief minister for around three-and-a-half months. The work we have done during this short period is the beginning," he said.
"Last time you made me win by 82,000 votes. You remember that? This time the record has to be broken," Adhikari said, repeatedly asking the crowd to promise that it would help him set a new record.
The Nandigram Assembly seat fell vacant after Adhikari resigned as MLA following his victory from both Nandigram and Bhabanipur in the 2026 Assembly polls. The Election Commission is yet to announce the date for the bypoll.
Nandigram has remained central to Adhikari's political identity. He defeated former chief minister Mamata Banerjee from the constituency in the 2021 Assembly election and retained the seat in the 2026 polls, while also defeating Banerjee in her home turf Bhabanipur in south Kolkata.
The chief minister also sought to draw a sharp political contrast with the previous government, particularly over Nandigram's development and pending projects.
He alleged that the previous chief minister had held up the railway project for Nandigram after losing the constituency, claiming that only six acres of land were required for the project and that around three-and-a-half acres had already been handed over to the Railways by his government.
"We will give the remaining land as well. By March next year, I will board the train at Nandigram railway station," he said, referring to the proposed railway connectivity.
Adhikari also used the occasion to revisit the history of the Nandigram movement and the violence surrounding it.
Recalling the anti-land acquisition agitation, he said the area had a history of resisting both British rule and subsequent political oppression.
The 2007 Nandigram land acquisition movement was a fierce peasant protest against a proposed chemical hub, which led to 14 deaths from police firing and the eventual fall of the state's Left Front government
He alleged that the previous TMC government had failed to resolve several cases and issues involving people associated with the Nandigram movement and claimed that the process of withdrawing thousands of cases registered against local people had begun.
"There will not be a single case against you. The process of withdrawing all the cases filed against you has already started," he said.
The chief minister also referred to families affected by past violence, saying pending issues relating to death certificates and employment for the families of those killed had been addressed by his government.
Adhikari sought to link the political change in Bengal with the delivery of welfare benefits, particularly health coverage, housing assistance and financial support for women.
Taking a swipe at the earlier government's Swasthya Sathi scheme, he claimed that Ayushman Bharat and the state's health insurance programme would provide beneficiaries access to a much larger network of government and private hospitals and treatment worth up to Rs 5 lakh.
He specifically referred to migrant workers from Nandigram living in cities outside the state, saying they too would be able to access the health benefits under the new system.
