NEW DELHI: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday filed her nomination from Bhabanipur, staging a show of strength with a road march from her Kalighat residence to the Alipore Survey Building in Kolkata. Flanked by supporters chanting slogans in her favour, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief walked nearly 800 metres, greeting party workers with folded hands as she sought to project confidence ahead of a high-stakes contest.Soon after filing her papers, Banerjee launched a sharp attack over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, saying she was “pained” by the deletion of thousands of names in Bengal. Alleging interference by the Centre led by Narendra Modi, she warned that such exercises could undermine the fairness of the election and promised legal assistance to affected voters.”I extend my greetings, my thanks, my respects, my salaam, my Jai Jinendra and Sat Shri Akaal to everyone. Today, as I filed my nomination, I want to say that along with the Bhabanipur constituency, I will work for every center and every area. We will form the government,” the TMC supremo said. Bhabanipur, long regarded as Banerjee’s political stronghold, is now emerging as a key battleground. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded Suvendu Adhikari against her, turning the contest into a direct face-off reminiscent of the 2021 Nandigram election, where Adhikari defeated the chief minister.
While Banerjee secured a resounding victory here in the 2021 bypoll with over 71 per cent of the vote, recent trends suggest a tightening race. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the TMC’s lead in the segment narrowed significantly, with the BJP making inroads across several municipal wards. The party leadership has since urged cadres to avoid complacency, setting an ambitious margin target to retain the seat.The SIR exercise has further intensified the contest. Party sources claim over 40,000 names have been removed from the rolls, with many more under scrutiny, fuelling competing narratives over voter targeting. The constituency’s mixed demographic profile — spanning Bengali and non-Bengali Hindus, minorities, and migrant communities — adds another layer of unpredictability.
