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Kolkata : The political contest over the Nandigram Assembly bypoll has taken another dramatic turn, with Congress candidate Milan Pradhan securing interim bail from the Calcutta High Court and the West Bengal government challenging the relief before the Supreme Court, putting the legal battle at the centre of the election campaign just days before polling. Pradhan, who is backed by Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress faction, was arrested on September 18 in connection with six criminal cases dating back to the 2007 Nandigram land-acquisition agitation, including cases involving allegations of murder and other offences.
The arrest came hours after Banerjee announced that her faction would support Pradhan after its own candidate withdrew from the October 6 bypoll. The Calcutta High Court on September 29 granted Pradhan interim bail until October 20, enabling him to participate in campaigning for the Nandigram election, and directed him to surrender before the trial court on October 21. The court’s order also came after arguments surrounding the long-pending cases and the timing of Pradhan’s arrest, with the Congress raising questions over the circumstances in which the cases were revived against its candidate.
The West Bengal government subsequently approached the Supreme Court seeking to challenge the High Court’s interim-bail order and requested an urgent hearing, arguing that the matter required consideration before the election process moved further. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the state, sought an early listing, while Chief Justice of India Surya Kant declined to take up the matter immediately and fixed the hearing for October 5, one day before the scheduled October 6 polling.
The timing has added another layer to an already closely watched contest: Pradhan’s interim bail allows him to campaign, while the Supreme Court is now set to consider the state government’s challenge immediately before voters in Nandigram cast their ballots. The legal proceedings, however, will determine the status of the bail and should not be treated as a final finding on the criminal allegations against the candidate.
The Nandigram seat became vacant after Suvendu Adhikari retained the other constituency he had won in the 2026 Assembly election, leading to the bypoll. The constituency has long held political significance in West Bengal, particularly because the 2007 land-acquisition movement in Nandigram became a major episode in the state’s political history. The latest developments have therefore brought together an election campaign, an old criminal-case battle and a high-profile political alignment, with Congress, Mamata Banerjee’s TMC faction and the BJP-led side represented in the contest facing a rapidly changing situation ahead of polling.
With the Supreme Court hearing scheduled for October 5 and voting set for October 6, the final days of the Nandigram bypoll are now being closely watched both politically and legally.
