Mamata Backs Milan Pradhan, Hours Later Congress Candidate Is Arrested In Nandigram

The arrest of Congress candidate Milan Pradhan has added a major twist to the October 6 Nandigram Assembly bypoll, coming just hours after Mamata Banerjee announced that her faction would support his candidature.

Pradhan was arrested on September 18 from the Chandipur police station area in Purba Medinipur in connection with cases registered during the 2007 Nandigram anti-land acquisition movement. Police said on Saturday that four non-bailable warrants had been issued against him by courts. Three cases were registered at Nandigram police station and one at Khejuri police station, with three of the four involving charges under the Arms Act. Police also said Pradhan had allegedly been evading arrest for 19 years.

Pradhan was produced before a Haldia court on Saturday after his arrest. Congress leader Subhasish Bhattacharya was also arrested for allegedly obstructing police from apprehending Pradhan, according to the party.

Congress has questioned the timing of the action, pointing out that it came shortly after Mamata announced support for Pradhan. Party leaders alleged that an old case was being used to target its candidate just as the bypoll campaign was gathering momentum. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge called the arrest an attempt at “vote chori” and “chunav chori”, while Rahul Gandhi described it as “political revenge”. These are political allegations and have not been established as findings against the authorities.

The timing followed another dramatic development in Nandigram. Mamata's faction withdrew its candidate Sanchita Pradhan Dey from the contest and announced support for Pradhan. The decision came after Dey met West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, who is associated with the BJP and had represented Nandigram before vacating the seat after the 2026 Assembly election.

Congress has said it will continue campaigning for Pradhan despite his arrest. West Bengal Congress president Subhankar Sarkar said the party would not be intimidated and would continue its election campaign.