High-stakes battle: Mamata vs Suvendu in Bhawanipore?

Kolkata: With the BJP fielding Suvendu Adhikari from two Assembly seats — Nandigram and Bhawanipore, the Constituency of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee — speculation has surged over a dramatic, high-stakes electoral showdown between the two rivals once again.

Banerjee is expected to contest from her Bhawanipore seat, where she won the 2021 by-election by a record margin of over 58,000 votes. However, it will be clear by Tuesday when the ruling Trinamool Congress announces its candidates’ list.

In the recent voter list revision in Bengal, Bhawanipore recorded one of the highest deletions in the state, with nearly four times more removals than Adhikari’s Nandigram, according to constituency-wise data released by the ECI. Data showed that Bhawanipore recorded 44,787 deletions from the 2,06,295 voters listed in January 2025, while Nandigram saw 10,599 deletions from 2,78,212 voters.

Before contesting the 2021 by-election from Bhawanipore, Banerjee had contested the polls from Nandigram. She was defeated by a narrow margin of 1,956 by Suvendu.

Allegations of manipulations had surfaced, with Mamata Banerjee challenging the result in Calcutta High Court, seeking to declare Adhikari’s win null and void on grounds of “corrupt practices”. The case is still pending in the court. The Trinamool Congress is set to release its candidates’ list with a target of winning 250 seats, promising a few surprises.

Speculation within the party suggests several new young faces will feature, including a prominent leader from its students’ wing. Two of its senior spokespersons may also be fielded, along with a few celebrities.