Congress candidate arrested in West Bengal over 2007 land protest

Milan Pradhan, Congress candidate for the Nandigram assembly bypoll scheduled for October 6, was arrested on Friday at a hotel in Chandipur, Purba Medinipur district, over allegations related to the 2007 anti-land acquisition agitation in the region. Congress leaders claimed the arrest was part of a coordinated political move by the Bharatiya Janata Party to undermine their candidacy.

Pradhan has been named in more than 12 cases stemming from his involvement in the Nandigram land movement, according to party statements. Congress leaders pointed out that despite being named in these cases over the past 16 years, Pradhan was arrested only after successfully filing his nomination for the bypoll, suggesting the timing was deliberate.

The arrest also saw the detention of Subhasish Bhattacharya, another Congress leader, who was accused of obstructing police operations. Party representatives contended that Pradhan had been a key organiser of the Nandigram movement and that reviving old charges against him now amounted to political vendetta.

The development comes hours after Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee announced her party's support for the Congress in the Nandigram bypoll, a significant political alignment in West Bengal's electoral landscape. The bypoll itself was necessitated by an earlier vacancy in the constituency.