It’s official. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will be pitted against her former confidant, now in the Bharatiya Janata Party, Suvendu Adhikari in Nandigram. Adhikari filed his nomination papers on Friday, two days after Banerjee did and ended up with injuries to her foot after an alleged attack.

Mamata Banerjee set up the big fight after Suvendu Adhikari joined the BJP from Trinamool, quitting his party of 21 years. Taking everyone by surprise, the Chief Minister had declared that she would contest from whichever seat Adhikari picks. Nandigram is the seat that played a significant role in propelling Banerjee to power in 2011 following the then Left Front government’s alleged forcible land acquisition. 

During a recent rally, Adhikari said he will defeat the chief minister by 50,000 votes and send her back to Kolkata. 

In an address, just before filing the nomination, Suvendu Adhikari, said, “I hope to receive people’s blessings. I’m confident people will support BJP and  bring it for real development in West Bengal. There is no question of any competition. BJP won 18 Parliamentary seats in 2019 & it will form a strong govt this time with a huge margin.”

“There is a lack of employment opportunities in the State. To bring change, we need to remove this TMC. TMC has turned into a private company, where only ‘Didi’ and ‘Bhaipo’ can speak freely,” he added, ANI reported. 

Banerjee, on the other hand, filed her nomination from the constituency on Wednesday. She, however, sustained injuries to one of her legs after she was allegedly pushed during the election campaign in Nandigram.

Assembly elections for the 294 constituencies in the state will be held in eight phases from March 27 to April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.