Nandigram, the political battlefield that catapulted West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to power, is now set to witness the construction of a grand Ram Mandir. BJP leader and Mamata’s fiercest political rival, Suvendu Adhikari, is spearheading the initiative, with the foundation stone set to be laid on April 6 in East Midnapore district.
The temple, modeled after Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir, is being seen as a calculated political move in Mamata’s stronghold. While Nandigram remains central to her legacy, it is also a bastion of the Adhikari family. Suvendu Adhikari, once a close aide of Mamata, turned into her biggest adversary when he defeated her in the high-stakes 2021 Assembly elections from the same constituency.
Adhikari’s move is expected to stir the political landscape of Bengal, especially since the chant of “Jai Shri Ram” has long been a politically charged slogan in the state. Known for her opposition to both “Ram” (Hindutva politics) and “Bam” (Left ideology), Mamata now finds the Ram narrative following her back to Nandigram, the very place that fueled her rise to power.
