The Congress has also been protesting the arrest, arguing that the timing of the police action has placed its candidate at a serious disadvantage weeks before polling. The party has described the arrest as politically motivated, while police have said Pradhan was arrested to execute long-pending non-bailable warrants in cases registered during the 2007 Nandigram movement.
Mukherjee accused the BJP of trying to prevent the Congress from campaigning effectively. “BJP’s highly undemocratic move against our candidate Milan Pradhan exposed the insecurity of the BJP in just four months of their rule,” he said.
He further claimed, “Everyone understands it is a political arrest. The only reason why Pradhan was jailed is that he did not give in to the candidature withdrawal demand of the BJP.”
The legal battle also moved forward on Monday. Pradhan, who is already in judicial custody, approached the Calcutta High Court seeking protection from coercive action in five other criminal cases. His lawyer told the court that the candidate feared that securing bail in one matter could still leave him behind bars if police arrested him in the other cases. The High Court is scheduled to hear the matter on Tuesday, 22 September.
Pradhan was arrested in Chandipur on 18 September in connection with old cases linked to the 2007 Nandigram agitation. Police have said the cases involve serious charges and that arrest warrants had remained pending.
The 6 October by-election and the 4 October end of campaigning have left Pradhan with little scope to campaign personally unless he secures relief from the courts.
Mukherjee also raised a more serious allegation concerning events before Pradhan’s arrest. He claimed that Pradhan had been taken away by police and brought to Mandarmani, where pressure was allegedly put on him to withdraw his candidature.
“He was abducted by the police blind folded and then taken to Mandarmani where he was pressurised to withdraw his candidature which he did not do,” Mukherjee alleged. He added that Congress leader Subhasish Bhattacharya, who he said was with Pradhan at the time, had spoken to the media about the incident.
The allegation has not been independently established.
The Congress is now attempting to turn Pradhan’s absence into a broader organisational campaign. Mukherjee said central leader Prakash Joshi, who is due in the state for a party conference, will also join the Nandigram campaign.
The Nandigram by-election was triggered after chief minister Suvendu Adhikari vacated the seat. Polling is scheduled for 6 October and counting for 9 October. The arrest of Pradhan came hours after Mamata Banerjee announced her support for his candidature following the withdrawal of the candidate backed by her faction of the Trinamool Congress.
