Mamata vs Suvendu: Bhabanipur set for high-voltage showdown

Banerjee unveiled the list of TMC candidates at her Kalighat residence on Tuesday evening.

The party will contest in 291 seats while three others (Hill constituencies of Kurseong, Kalimpong and Darjeeling) have been left for Anit Thapa-led Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM). 

The announcement came a day after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) upped the ante by fielding her arch-rival Adhikari from her current constituency, a cosmopolitan pocket of Kolkata.

Banerjee declined to comment on Adhikari contesting from Bhabanipur. When pestered, she said, "I have unwavering faith in the people. I serve them year-round—this isn’t a one-day battle for me."

Adhikari will also contest from his existing seat, Nandigram, where he had defeated Banerjee in the 2021 Assembly elections.

Following her defeat in Nandigram, Banerjee had contested from her home turf Bhabanipur, winning the bypoll to continue as Chief Minister.

In a surprise move, TMC has fielded former BJP panchayat chief and Adhikari-loyalist, Pabitra Kar, from Nandigram hours after welcoming him into the partyfold. 

The Bhabanipur constituency has since drawn significant political attention, with Adhikari repeatedly asserting he would replicate his Nandigram victory against Banerjee.

Adding to the stakes, over 47,000 names were reportedly deleted from the electoral roll in Bhabanipur during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), a development many analysts view as a potential concern for the Chief Minister ahead of the polls.

However, projecting confidence, Banerjee recently said at a rally that she would win from Bhabanipur “even by a single vote”, dismissing concerns over voter deletions, which her party has strongly opposed.