Opposition candidates make allegations of intimidation during election campaign in West Bengal

“The way they are arresting our workers and leaders in random fake cases is stopping us from campaigning. Now I will campaign only through my social media (accounts),” said Humayun Kabir. File | Photo credit: PTI

West Bengal is witnessing a tumultuous election campaign in both Nandigram and Rejinagar constituencies. Milan Pradhan, the Congress candidate from Nandigram, applied for bail in the Calcutta High Court on Monday (September 21, 2026). Aam Janata Unnayan Party leader Humayun Kabir said the police were pressuring him not to campaign for his son Golam Nabi Azad in Rejinagar.

Mr. Pradhan was arrested on September 18 after former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee endorsed the candidate. Many across political parties are calling it a “targeted attack.”

However, Congress party members and local leaders in Nandigram on Monday started campaigning on the streets of the constituency without the candidate being physically present at the spot as he remains in judicial custody till October 3 in the 2007 cases.

Polling for votes

As Mr Pradhan applied for bail on Monday, a fresh case was registered against him on Sunday (September 20). He was arrested by the police in four cases dating back to 2007. Without bail, Mr. Pradhan will have no time to campaign for himself.

Meanwhile, the West Bengal unit of the Congress has released a video where Arpita Pradhan, wife of Mr. Pradhan, claims that her husband was wrongfully arrested in false cases. “He was always here at public events, why wasn’t he arrested earlier? Why arrest him now that he has become a candidate for Congress?” Ms. Pradhan said in the video. She urged the people of Nandigram to see the truth and vote in his favor in the by-polls.

Earlier, in a statement released by the state police, they said Mr Pradhan had evaded the rule of law for more than 19 years and his arrest was “lawful”.

Nandigram constituency is one of the most prestigious seats as it is the home of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. He won from this seat in 2026 by 9,665 votes. However, he gave it up as he defeated Mamata Banerjee from Bhabanipur and retained his MLA seat there. Mr Adhikari also defeated Ms Banerjee from Nandigram in the 2021 assembly polls by a margin of 1,956 votes.

Rejinagar bypolls

AJUP founder Mr Kabir fielded his own son Mr Azad from Rejinagar, a seat he relinquished after retaining Nowda, in which he also topped.

“The way they are arresting our workers and leaders in random fake cases is preventing us from campaigning. Now I will campaign only through my social media (accounts),” Mr Kabir said on Monday. He claimed that he has been shut down from all sides and anyone associated with him is being illegally detained by the police as the families he visits for the campaign have also been threatened.

Mr. Kabir also said that the AJUP workers have stopped campaigning due to this harassment and will directly “see” on election day and sacrifice their lives if necessary.

Kabir called for questioning

On Monday (September 21), the Nowda MLA was called for questioning at the Behrampore police station in connection with the viral audio clip case that was released this month.

On September 19, the West Bengal police arrested Saiful Islam, an independent candidate from Rejinagar who has close ties with the AJUP leadership. This happened a day after Mr. Pradhan was arrested.

Elections to the Nandigram and Rejinagar seats are scheduled to be held on October 6.

Published – 21 Sep 2026 21:48 IST