NEW DELHI: West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday decided to retain the Bhabanipur seat and vacate Nandigram after winning from both constituencies in the recently concluded West Bengal assembly elections.Suvendu had contested from his stronghold Nandigram as well as Bhabanipur, the constituency long considered a bastion of former chief minister Mamata Banerjee.“I cannot take oath as an MLA from two assembly constituencies. I have taken oath as the MLA from Bhabanipur. I will have to leave the Nandigram Assembly constituency,” the West Bengal chief minister said.“With the blessings of the people and under the leadership of PM Modi, we have entered inside the legislative assembly. The budget will be presented here. 143 MLAs will take oath here today. The new Speaker will be elected tomorrow,” he addedSuvendu secured a high-profile victory from Bhabanipur, a seat closely associated with Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata.The giantslayer had earlier defeated Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram in the 2021 assembly election after quitting the TMC and joining the Bharatiya Janata Party.This time, Suvendu directly challenged Mamata once again by contesting from Bhabanipur, turning the constituency into one of the biggest political battlegrounds of the election.
