Political battlelines are drawn for the face-off in West Bengal assembly election 2021. A report on Friday confirmed that Suvendu Adhikari will be fighting polls against Mamata Banerjee from the Nandigram seat. According to a report by India Today, a source confirmed the development following BJP’s central election committee (CEC) meeting yesterday. The meeting was attended by Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and party president JP Nadda. Meanwhile, the BJP is expected to release the first list of candidates for the upcoming West Bengal polls in a day or two. The saffron camp has shortlisted on an average of 4-5 names per seat for the initial two phases of polling in the state.

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All eyes are set on Nandigram as it will witness a high-profile contest between Adikari and Mamata. Adhikari had earlier asserted that he will defeat his former boss by “at least 50,000 votes” if fielded from the Nandigram constituency.

Adhikari held a key position in the TMC-led West Bengal cabinet and was in charge of the state’s transport, irrigation, and waterways in the Mamata Banerjee government. He, last year, tendered his resignation and switched over to BJP.

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State party chief Dilip Ghosh on Thursday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party will definitely win atleast 200 of the total 294 Assembly seats. “We will not get less than 200 (seats). It will definitely be more than 200. We did not begin preparations today, we had started five years back,” said Ghosh. But, if reports of the local Bengali dailies are to be believed, then the BJP-high command are in fact asking the contenders in the various seats in the state, whether they will be able to win, which confirms the assertion made by I-PAC chief Prashant Kishor.