A year ago, around this time, Bengal’s Nandigram had grabbed the nation’s attention amid elections, the biggest ever political battle between two candidates – the Trinamool Congress chief. Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari, who switched from TMC to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Banerjee lost and became chief minister of Bengal, while Adhikari won and is the leader of the opposition.
News18 revisits Nandigram to check ground reality in Kurukshetra, Bengal.
flagging it
The area from Ripada Bazar to Nandigram Bazar is littered with flags of both BJP and TMC political parties.
Even though there are no elections, the fight is still on in Nandigram.
When News18 asked Mantu Manjhi, a local tea stall owner about the flag, he said, “The political temperature is always high in Nandigram. All the parties want their dominance here, due to which there is a fight for such flags. There has been silence here for the last two months. We don’t know what the future holds.”
While crossing the village of Chillagram, we see a new idol of the martyr Devvrat Maiti. Maiti was a BJP worker who was allegedly murdered by ruling party workers on May 2, 2021, after the election results.
Many lives have been lost due to politics and agitations in Nandigram from 2007 to 2021. The local people say that the idol was built by the local legislative officer.
in matti’s house
As per the directions of the court, a contingent of five Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel is still stationed at Maiti’s residence.
Maiti’s son Ranjit said, “We still can’t believe that he is not with us. We have been fighting since last year, but got nothing from the government. In the last six months, no one threatened us, but We do not know what will happen in the future. We are grateful Officer who stood by us.”
Maiti’s daughter Sagarika is still unable to sleep properly after remembering on 2nd May.
He said, “As soon as the results came out, a scuffle broke out here in the evening. My father reached the spot. They beat up my father, my uncle and others badly. He was taken to the hospital, where my father passed away. The court ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe and 24-hour security outside our house. But what happens when the security is gone? It won’t last a lifetime. We will be attacked again.”
Not only Maiti, the local people of Chillagram are also living in panic.
case status
In the Maiti case, over 44 TMC leaders, including two prominent leaders Sheik Sufyan, Banerjee’s election agent and Abu Taher, have been named in the First Information Report (FIR). 12 TMC workers are in jail.
News18 contacted Tahir.
He said, ‘We don’t even know who Maiti is. They have falsely implicated us. On May 18, the CBI called me. I didn’t go because I know if I go they will arrest me. I have sought time and am taking legal advice. 12 of our workers are unnecessarily in jail.”
Read also | The name has changed, this Nandigram is now ‘Mamatamayi Nagar’.
BJP claims that local police is being used by TMC and TMC claims that BJP is using CBI to fix scores.
In Nandigram, both the parties have retained their hold. The BJP office near Nandigram market is buzzing as elections are near. Saheb Das, a local BJP leader said, “The other day, they sent police to the officer’s house-cum-office. We will do well in the panchayat.
Panchayat elections are in 2023, but Nandigram is already ready for it.
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