New Delhi, November 12, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Nandigram, the small town in West Bengal’s Purba Medinipur district that became the centre of a major anti-land acquisition movement in 2007, has emerged as a politically difficult territory for the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and its leader, Mamata Banerjee.
The movement against the then Left Front government’s proposed chemical hub helped propel Banerjee towards power. However, the party is now facing criticism over the absence of any significant commemoration of the movement on November 10, observed annually as Nandigram Day or Martyrs’ Day.
The day remembers those killed during the 2007 crackdown on a protest rally, allegedly by Left Front supporters. The incident, associated with what became known as Operation Sunrise, left at least two people dead. This year, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari paid tribute to the martyrs at a ceremony in Nandigram.
Trinamool MLA and spokesperson Kunal Ghosh has been among the strongest voices criticising the lack of a significant observance. The issue has revived questions about the party’s relationship with a movement that once provided its most powerful political narrative.
Nandigram, along with Singur, helped Banerjee build a statewide campaign against the Left Front over land rights and alleged forced acquisition of agricultural land. Her slogan, “Ma Mati Manush” (Mother, Motherland, People), became central to the TMC’s 2011 Assembly election campaign, which ended 34 years of uninterrupted Left Front rule in West Bengal.
Among the prominent local leaders who emerged from the agitation was Suvendu Adhikari, then a key TMC organiser in the region. After falling out with Banerjee, he joined the BJP in 2020, changing the political equation in Nandigram.
In the 2021 Assembly election, Banerjee chose to contest from Nandigram against Adhikari in an attempt to reclaim the movement’s political legacy. She lost the seat to him, even as the TMC secured a decisive victory across the state and returned to power for a third consecutive term. Banerjee subsequently entered the Assembly through a by-election.
The constituency has since become a symbol of the BJP’s emergence as the principal challenger to the TMC in a region once dominated by the Left and later considered a stronghold of Banerjee’s party.
The political dilemma for the TMC is that commemorating Nandigram means celebrating a movement central to its rise while also recalling Banerjee’s defeat in the same constituency. The article also points to Adhikari’s continued political prominence, noting that he defeated Banerjee again in her home constituency of Bhabanipur, preventing her from securing a place in the state Assembly.
Nandigram therefore remains a defining chapter in Banerjee’s political journey: the movement that helped take her to power has also become a reminder of the limits and uncertainties of political dominance.
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