Mamata files papers, calls herself street fighter

Shubhadeep Choudhury

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 10

Chief Minister Mamata Banerje on Wednesday said Nandigram meant a lot to her. “Nandigram is not simply a slogan to me. It is also the place where a peasant struggle had taken place. I salute those who were murdered. I salute people of Nandigram,” Banerjee said during a media interaction at Haldia on Wednesday.

Mamata was in Haldia to file her nomination for the Nandigram Assembly constituency.

The TMC supremo decided to contest from Nandigram after being challenged by BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari.

While the leading role played by Mamata in the agitation against forcible acquisition of land in Nandigram catapulted her to power in Bengal, Suvendu also played a key role in the agitation as her deputy. Suvendu joined the BJP recently, the two heavyweights are now locked in a high-voltage contest in their old haunt, where they had once bonded.

Suvendu, who is slated to file his papers on Friday, was also present in Nandigram today. The rivals, though, did not come face to face. Suvendu held a roadshow and inaugurated election office. He said Mamata was flaunting her Hindu religious identity because people started doubting it. Describing herself as a “street fighter”, Didi appealed to people to help her win.