Nandigram: Trinamool Congress nominated ex-BJP panchayat chief Pabitra Kar as its candidate for Nandigram in the 2026 assembly election, setting up a contest against Suvendu Adhikari. This happened a few hours after Adhikari’s campaign coordinator for the high-voltage 2021 election in Nandigram defected to Trinamool.Kar, a former panchayat pradhan of Boyal-1 gram panchayat in Nandigram-2 block of East Midnapore, rejoined Trinamool in the presence of the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee. Around 4 hours later, Banerjee announced Kar’s name as the party candidate from Nandigram as CM Mamata Banerjee, who suffered the narrowest of defeats in Nandigram five years ago, looked on.Kar quit TMC in Nov 2020 to join BJP and played a significant role in consolidating the saffron party’s organisational structure in the Boyal-1 area. He was believed to have been instrumental in securing a lead for the BJP in the region in the 2021 assembly polls.Following the announcement, Union minister Sukanta Majumdar remarked that Adhikari would secure an easy win in Nandigram.Kar earlier was with Trinamool, as was Adhikari. He joined the BJP in 2021 when Adhikari defected to the saffron party. He thereafter was the key person to design the campaigns for Adhikari and played a significant role in securing a massive lead for BJP in Nandigram Block II areas in 2021 assembly polls. Adhikari even arranged a security cover of the central forces for him.Kar courted controversy after Trinamool worker Rabindranath Manna in Bhekutia was murdered days before the 2021 assembly election.The rift between BJP and Kar came to the fore during a Ram Mandir celebration in Reyapara this Jan. Despite Adhikari being the chief guest, local BJP workers harassed Kar while he approached the stage. They accused him of having a tacit understanding with Trinamool. The humiliation forced Kar to leave the venue, driving a wedge between Adhikari and him.While Nandigram Block I witnessed a close contest in 2021, Block II emerged as a BJP stronghold, a trend underscored by the 2023 panchayat election results. The battle for the panchayat samitis also highlighted thin margins. In Nandigram Block I, both TMC and BJP won 15 seats each out of 30. In Block II, BJP bagged 10 out of 16 seats.Despite the BJP’s grip on local bodies, of the five Zilla Parishad seats in the constituency, TMC swept all three in Block I, while BJP secured win in two in Block II. But, BJP managed to retain control over the management of local cooperative societies. “This isn’t just a change of candidate, it’s a change in the entire electoral equation,” said a Trinamool neta.
