Pradhan was arrested hours after Banerjee announced her support. He was subsequently sent to judicial custody till 3 October in connection with pending cases dating back to the 2007 Nandigram land-acquisition agitation. Police said there were multiple pending non-bailable warrants against him, while Congress questioned the timing of the action.
The arrest added another layer to an already volatile bypoll. Congress leaders alleged political vendetta, while the BJP rejected any political connection and maintained that the police were carrying out the legal process.
The latest move also carries historical significance. Banerjee herself emerged from the Congress before breaking away in the late 1990s to establish the Trinamool Congress, positioning it as a vehicle to challenge the Left Front and what she viewed as Congress’ inadequate opposition to the CPI(M).
Yet Congress and the TMC have periodically joined hands when confronted with a larger political adversary. The two parties fought the 2001 West Bengal assembly election together after Banerjee severed ties with the NDA. They again allied for the 2009 Lok Sabha election, and their partnership reached its high point in 2011 when they jointly ended the Left Front’s 34-year rule in Bengal.
The alliance subsequently collapsed amid differences over policy, seat-sharing and the functioning of the state government.
Relations became particularly strained during Banerjee’s tenure, with Congress leaders repeatedly accusing the TMC of marginalising their organisation. The Trinamool, in turn, portrayed Congress as a declining political force whose weakness benefited the BJP and the Left.
Against that backdrop, Banerjee’s decision to support Congress in Nandigram has been viewed by political observers as more than a routine bypoll arrangement. It puts Congress at the centre of an anti-BJP electoral strategy in a constituency that has considerable political significance for Banerjee.
Congress veteran Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, however, sought to play down the possibility of an immediate rapprochement between the two parties.
Reacting to Banerjee’s move, Chowdhury said she should support Congress “not as a fallen leaf but by holding the hand of the banyan tree”, while asserting that the party’s revival under Rahul Gandhi should be recognised.
“One should note the timing of the support. It happened after her candidate withdrew from the race. She now has the ‘football player’ symbol, but she has no player left to play her game,” Chowdhury said, referring to the new symbol allotted to Banerjee’s faction.
“That’s why she has come to us, knowing we are the only third force that has the ability to take on the BJP,” he added.
West Bengal Pradesh Congress president Subhankar Sarkar struck a more receptive tone, saying the party welcomed support from anti-BJP and secular political forces in the state.
“The Congress welcomes any support coming from the anti-BJP and secular political repository of the state, which will recognise our party’s fight against the saffron conglomerate with Rahul Gandhi leading it from the front,” Sarkar said.
“One never knows, this development in Bengal may open up a new political path facilitating a separate cementing factor for the opposition,” he added.
