Won't force you to say Jai Shri Ram: Suvendu Adhikari's poll pitch to minorities

Suvendu Adhikari urged minority voters in Nandigram to support the BJP in the October 6 bypoll. He cast the contest as both a development vote and a response to the killing of Chandranath Rath.CM Suvendu Adhikari (Credits: PTI)Nandigram,Oct 3, 2026 08:01 ISTWest Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday appealed to minority voters in Nandigram to support the BJP in the October 6 bypoll, calling it the "most auspicious occasion to build a friendship" with the party.Campaigning for BJP candidate Hasirani Rath, he also attacked the Trinamool Congress, alleged corruption under its previous dispensation and highlighted the work and promises of his government.Addressing a rally, Adhikari said the bypoll should also be seen as a response to the killing of Chandranath Rath, the slain former personal assistant of the chief minister and the son of the BJP candidate. He said his government would expand development work in Nandigram, create jobs and maintain transparency in recruitment.Speaking at Birulia Bazar in Nandigram II block, where the BJP has traditionally found it difficult because of a large number of Muslim voters, Adhikari said turning away from the BJP would no longer help the minority community as the TMC had "ceased to exist". "This is the best time to extend your hand of friendship towards us. October 6 is an auspicious day. You won't get a better opportunity to hold our hands as friends. Yes, we chant 'Jai Shree Ram', but we don't force you to do it. You can choose not to and just say 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'," he said.Adhikari was campaigning for Hasirani Rath, whose son Chandranath Rath was shot dead on the outskirts of Kolkata on May 6, a day after the Assembly election results were declared. "Chandranath's only crime was that he was my aide. His shooters were from Uttar Pradesh, who were employed by men from Munger in Bihar. Chandranath's close aide had fixed the hit and delivered Rs 2 crore for the job which was supplied by the 'bhaipo' gang," he said. He added that the CBI had already made arrests and completed "90 per cent of the job". "Only the Diamond Harbour company remains to be formally linked to the crime," Adhikari said, in an indirect reference to TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee. He urged voters to answer the killing through the ballot. "On October 6, there must be a democratic retaliation for the murder of Chandranath on EVMs," he said.Without naming Mamata Banerjee or Abhishek Banerjee directly, Adhikari said the TMC's name and symbol had already been erased from the state. "When I went to collect the certificate of the winning candidate from Nandigram, I had said that there would be no name or symbol of the TMC. The aunt-nephew duo's dry grass and twin flower symbol no longer exist. The chhinnamool people tried hard on the EVMs. The people have driven Mamata Banerjee's party out," he said.He was referring to the Election Commission allotting different names and symbols for the bypolls to the Mamata Banerjee and Arup Roy factions of the TMC. Adhikari said the party, backed by a large section of minority voters in earlier Nandigram elections, had become non-existent after splitting into two parties with new names.On corruption, Adhikari made an oblique reference to a "big thief". "Smaller fries like Sumit Roy have gone to jail. When will the big thief go? I assure you that the big thief too will also go to jail," he said. He asked voters to ensure that all rival candidates lost their security deposits and said "there's no end to the sins and tortures committed by the TMC". In a sarcastic remark on TMC candidate Sanchita Dey Pradhan, he said she had already "withdrawn her own nomination and gone flying like a kite".Adhikari said his government had carried out development work in the past five months and promised to provide three times the assistance he had given earlier. "I had promised you that I would get you on trains. Within a few months, I will ensure that train services start on the Nandigram-Deshapran-Bajkul route," he said. He also said he would take responsibility for restoring the Odisha Coast Canal and improving the rural economy. "It is my duty to bring back the migrant workers of the state and to provide jobs to the youth," he said, adding that recruitment examinations were being conducted by the Public Service Commission.He alleged that the previous TMC dispensation had followed a politics of appeasement and said his government had "rectified" the laws governing OBC reservations and withdrawn a petition pending before the Supreme Court.He also said the government had published the merit list for recruitment of 12,000 police constables in a transparent manner and that there had been no protests over it. "I will hand over appointment letters to the recruits on October 11," he said.Adhikari said the BJP government would give jobs to 1 lakh people within one year while maintaining norms and transparency. "Start counting from May 9, when I took oath as the chief minister in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he said, adding, "I will bring out the report card after one year to show that what you could not in 15 years, we can achieve in one year."Adhikari, who was the MLA from Nandigram from 2016, said he would work more for the constituency than he had earlier. Bypolls will be held in Nandigram in Purba Medinipur and Rejinagar in Murshidabad on October 6, with counting on October 9. The Nandigram bypoll was necessitated by Adhikari's resignation after he also won Bhabanipur in the April Assembly polls.- Ends