Hours after Mamata's support, Congress claims Nandigram bypoll candidate Milan Pradhan arrested

On Friday, Mamata Banerjee extended her support to the Congress' Nandigram candidate and said that her TMC faction would not field a candidate.

Milan Pradhan, Congress party's candidate for Nandigram bypoll in West Bengal, was arrested hours after former chief minister and TMC founder Mamata Banerjee threw her support for the candidate, the Congress party claimed on Friday.

“Today, Mamata Banerjee—the former Chief Minister—extended her support to Milan Pradhan. Within just a few hours, he was arrested... If you resort to intimidation—refusing to give space to the opposition—do you want autocracy or democracy in this country?... If you think you can stop the Congress or the opposition through such threats, then you are likely under a complete misconception.” Congress spokesperson Mita Chakraborty told news agency ANI.

Another senior Congress leader told PTI, “This is nothing but a dirty game of the BJP. Milan had been spearheading the Nandigram movement in 2007. He had been named in at least 12 cases since then. But today, because he has successfully filed his nomination, the police were made to arrest him.”

On Friday, Mamata Banerjee said that her faction had decided not to contest the Nandigram bypolls and would instead support the Congress candidate. Banerjee said the move reflected the INDIA alliance's commitment to unity as Opposition parties seek to challenge the BJP together.

"In Nandigram, we are going to give our support to the Congress party. It is for the greater interest of the country. Rejinagar, I will decide later. In Assam, we are not contesting," she said at a press conference in Kolkata.

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