Bengal polls: Nandigram voters seek ‘real’ development over rhetoric

Nandigram: Amid an intense, high-voltage electoral battle in the Nandigram Assembly Constituency—largely a bipolar fight between Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate Pabitra Kar and BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari—a sizeable section of voters expressed a desire to move beyond political rhetoric, religious polarisation, and identity politics. Instead, they signalled a clear demand for “real” development, including industrial growth, job creation, improved healthcare infrastructure, and better roads.

Voters feel politics has long overshadowed real needs in this “cradle of the anti-land acquisition stir”. On March 14, 2007, 14 farmers were killed in police firing while protesting the erstwhile Left Front’s land acquisition for a chemical hub.

It was a momentous movement that eventually contributed to Mamata Banerjee’s ascent to power. Back to 2026 — a 63-year-old man from Terapekhia Bazar on the banks of the Haldi River in Nandigram Block II, speaking on condition of anonymity, said people urgently need industries—big or small—so the younger generation doesn’t have to migrate to Haldia or elsewhere in search of jobs.

“Politics should be about serving people better. My son, who is a graduate, works in a factory in Haldia—youth here have to leave their villages for jobs. We witnessed bloodshed during the anti-land acquisition movement nearly two decades ago. Enough time has passed; it’s time to move on to a better future,” the sexagenarian said. Once a thriving trade hub where boats unloaded goods for wider distribution, including in undivided Midnapore, Terapekhia Bazar now lives in the shadow of its past, locals said.

Nearby stretches—from Uttar Boyal Primary School to Khodambari I—and areas like Bheturya continue to suffer from poor road conditions.

Sheikh Gulam Nizamuddin, a veteran TMC leader who claimed to have worked with Suvendu’s father Sisir Adhikari when he was in the ruling party state said: “Suvendu did nothing in the past five years. People here want a change.”

Speaking to Millennium Post, TMC’s Pabitra Kar said that no “major development took place in Nandigram during Suvendu Adhikari’s tenure as MLA”, adding that people have long demanded a bridge over the Haldi River, a medical college, and stronger agricultural growth.

Nizamuddin, who had mentored Pabitra Kar during his Gram Panchayat election victory when Suvendu Adhikari was a Cabinet minister in the Mamata Banerjee government, said Kar needs to strengthen booth-level coordination, which is currently not up to the mark.

Voter reactions in Tangua Bazar, a few kilometres from Kar’s residence, were mixed. A local shop owner in his mid-30s said Kar is no match for Suvendu, who remains the favourite in the upcoming polls. However, Swapna Jana from Boyal-I said: “We’ve benefited from the state government’s Lakshmir Bhandar and other schemes. The direct benefit transfer programmes have significantly improved the socio-economic conditions of housewives like us. This time, the situation favours TMC.”