Mamata Banerjee appears before Calcutta High Court to affirm petition challenging Suvendu Adhikari’s election

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday appeared before the Calcutta High Court to affirm her election petition challenging the victory of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari from the Nandigram Assembly constituency.

Speaking to reporters outside the court, TMC MP and senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee alleged that the 2026 election process in Nandigram was conducted improperly and raised questions over the role of election officials involved in the polling exercise.

“Mamata Banerjee came today to the Calcutta High Court to affirm the election petition filed by her challenging the election of Suvendu Adhikari because the election was conducted improperly,” Banerjee said.

Allegations over conduct of election

According to Kalyan Banerjee, concerns have been raised regarding events that allegedly took place during the counting process.

He claimed that after 12 rounds of counting, Mamata Banerjee and her election agent were allegedly assaulted and removed from the counting centre.

The TMC leader also questioned the appointment of the Returning Officer (RO) who supervised the election process.

“He was the Returning Officer during the 2021 Nandigram election. Again, he has been brought back as RO in 2026. Later, he was made Deputy Secretary to the Chief Minister,” Banerjee alleged.

Questions over election officials

Banerjee further alleged that officials who held key positions during the election were subsequently appointed to important administrative posts, creating what he described as a “reasonable likelihood of bias.”

“The Chief Election Officer was made Chief Secretary immediately after the election. There were several allegations against them and a reasonable likelihood of bias exists,” he said.

Legal challenge underway

The election petition seeks to challenge Suvendu Adhikari’s victory from Nandigram, one of West Bengal’s most politically significant constituencies.

The matter is now before the Calcutta High Court, which will examine the allegations and evidence presented in the petition.

“Please wait, let’s see what is going to happen,” Kalyan Banerjee said while commenting on the ongoing legal proceedings.

The development comes amid continuing political tensions between the ruling BJP government in West Bengal and the Trinamool Congress, with the Nandigram contest remaining a major point of political and legal dispute.