West Bengal Election: Mamata Banerjee to contest from Nandigram

Kolkata : Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday announced that she will be contesting the upcoming Assembly Elections from Nandigram, the epicenter of a farmers' movement that propelled her to power in the state 10 years ago.

The announcement becomes crucial as Nandigram is the constituency of her former right hand man Suvendu Adhikari, who joined hands with the BJP last month.

"I will contest from Nandigram. Nandigram is my lucky place," Mamata Banerjee said, addressing a public meeting in the town for the first time in five years.

In the last elections, she had contested from Bhabanipur in Kolkata.

"Bhabanipur, please don't feel bad. I will give you a good candidate," the 66-year-old leader said.

Although, she has hinted that she may contest the elections from two constituencies as well. She added, "Nandigram is my big sister, Bhabanipur is my younger sister...I will fight from both if possible. In case I am unable to contest from Bhabanipore, someone else would contest."

It will be interesting to see how she performs on the Nandigram seat as it becomes an open challenge for Suvendu.

(Image)