Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari, a former aide of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, filed his nomination from the Nandigram assembly constituency on March 12 for the state polls.

Adhikari, who served as Bengal's state minister for transport until December 2020 before switching to the BJP, is taking on Banerjee from the seat that goes to polls in the second phase on April 1.

"My relationship with the people of Nandigram is very old. Mamata Banerjee remembers them every five years only when elections are around. This time, they will make her lose," Adhikari said at a public meeting before filing his nomination.

“There is a lack of employment opportunities in the state. To bring change, we need to remove this TMC. TMC has turned into a private company, where only 'Didi' and 'Bhaipo' can speak freely,” Adhikari added.

He had earlier previously branded Banerjee as an outsider in Nandigram, which was seen as a response to the chief minister claiming that the BJP was an “outsider” in the state.

"People from Gujarat will not rule Bengal, the Trinamool Congress will rule Bengal," the TMC chief had said.

A day before filing his nomination, Adhikari visited a Lord Shiva temple in Nandigram and offered prayers on the occasion of Mahashivratri.  A large number of BJP supporters were also present at the temple. As a microphone was handed to him, he chanted 'Har Har Mahadev' and 'Bhole Baba Par Karega' amid loud cheers from his supporters.

The chief minister had filed her nomination from the high-profile seat on March 10 after undertaking a two-kilometre roadshow. Banerjee, who is the Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate from the constituency, had also visited one temple after another over the last two days during her election campaign in the area, which had to be cut short after she was injured in an alleged attack.

Adhikari had won the seat in 2016 on a TMC ticket. The party's candidate Firoja Bibi had won the constituency in 2009 and 2011.

TMC is fighting to secure a third consecutive term amid a challenge from the BJP. The saffron party has seen its electoral popularity rise rapidly over the last few years in the state where it was not traditionally dominant.

The Left Front, which governed the state for three decades before Banerjee came to power, has joined hands with the Indian National Congress and the Indian Secular Front (ISF).

The state of West Bengal is heading for polling in eight phases starting from March 27. The counting of votes will happen on May 2 along with Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, and Tamil Nadu.