Suvendu’s ‘financial dole’ under lens amid dev, religious card backlash & shifting alliances?

Nandigram: Will the ‘Anugami Bhata’ (locally referred to as Sangrami Bhata) — an annual financial dole allegedly “extended to a select circle of party workers and loyalists” — be enough to truly shield BJP’s Nandigram candidate Suvendu Adhikari from mounting reputational damage and a looming electoral setback in this year’s high-voltage battle is a question hanging heavily in the air, with the answer now only a matter of time.

Having “failed” to deliver on developmental fronts in his Constituency over the past five years, the outgoing BJP MLA from Nandigram leaned heavily on the “religion card”.

Adhikari, who has often claimed that his 2021 victory was powered by Hindu votes, now appears to recognise that this divisive strategy is yielding diminishing returns. On ‘ground zero’, many voters seem fatigued with religious polarisation and are instead demanding tangible development—an area where Nandigram is seen as lagging. Whether Adhikari truly fell short in executing meaningful development work, or was constrained by what he alleges to be a step-motherly approach from the TMC government, however, remains open to debate.

Adhikari, a “self-proclaimed” poster boy of Hindutva who had earlier portrayed sections of the minority community as “Jehadi,” now appears to be softening his stance. He has increasingly maintained that he never said he did not need Muslim votes. There is also a growing sense that the Hindutva plank alone may not suffice this time, especially with his principal opponent, TMC’s Pabitra Kar, actively associated with Hindu religious organisations and backed by a strong organisational base in the region. “Roads in several stretches of Nandigram II are in a very poor condition. There has been no effective utilisation of MLA-LAD or MP-LAD funds for development. It is the Zilla Parishad that has stepped in to bridge the gap,” said Arunabha Bhunia, a senior TMC leader.

Nandigram falls under the Tamluk Parliamentary Constituency, represented by BJP MP Abhijit Gangopadhyay, while the Zilla Parishad remains under the control of the TMC.

A TMC activist from Boyal I Gram Panchayat in Nandigram II, speaking on condition of anonymity, alleged that under the “Anugami Bhata scheme, Adhikari pays up to Rs 12,000 per month to party functionaries, with a structured rate chart based on their rank—from youth leaders to grassroots workers”.

Paradoxically, Adhikari has been a staunch critic of the Mamata Banerjee government’s direct monthly assistance schemes, often dismissing them as “dole politics” or “bhata politics.”

Yet, while the state runs these as universal programmes, the Opposition leader is accused of extending similar benefits selectively to a chosen few through direct cash transfers. Moreover, local TMC leaders from Boyal I and Boyal II Gram Panchayats have alleged that as the election drew closer, Adhikari began distributing cash among voters, with local youths also allegedly being paid for alcohol.

Nandigram’s electoral history suggests that Block I, which has a significant minority population (around 36% Muslim voters), has traditionally leaned towards the Trinamool Congress. In the 2021 Assembly elections, the ruling party held an edge over the BJP in this segment.

In contrast, Block II tilted towards the BJP in both the 2021 Assembly polls and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In 2021, Mamata Banerjee came close to narrowing the gap in this block but eventually lost by a slim margin in Sonachura.

The defection of Kar, once considered Adhikari’s “Man Friday,” has seemingly shifted the poll arithmetic in Nandigram II. Kar had been instrumental in securing leads for Adhikari in Boyal I, Boyal II, and Vekutia Gram Panchayats during the 2021 elections.