Nandigram Bypoll: Congress Candidate Milan Pradhan Sent to Judicial Custody Till October 3, Campaign Hit Days Before Polling
Congress candidate Milan Pradhan has been sent to judicial custody until October 3 by a court in West Bengal, effectively taking him off the campaign trail just days before the October 6 Nandigram Assembly by-election. The Haldia Subdivisional Court passed the order on September 19, a day after Pradhan was arrested.
The arrest stems from four pending non-bailable warrants connected with cases registered during the 2007 Nandigram anti-land-acquisition agitation. According to West Bengal Police, the cases involve allegations including murder, attempt to murder, abduction with intent to murder, causing disappearance of evidence, house trespass and rioting with arms and deadly weapons. Police also said relevant provisions of the Arms Act were invoked.
Pradhan was produced before the Haldia court following his arrest on Friday. His counsel told the court that the cases date back to 2007 and that Pradhan had been described as an absconder in the chargesheets. The defence also questioned the circumstances surrounding the revival and execution of the old warrants.
The police, however, said Pradhan had been evading arrest for around 19 years and that repeated attempts to execute the warrants had previously failed. Police further stated that execution of long-pending non-bailable warrants is part of standing instructions during elections and by-elections.
The timing of the arrest has become a major political issue because it came shortly after Mamata Banerjee announced support for Pradhan in the Nandigram contest. Her faction’s candidate, Sanchita Pradhan Dey, had withdrawn from the race following a meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.
Congress and Banerjee’s faction have questioned the timing, alleging that the old cases were being used to put pressure on the opposition candidate. Those are political allegations, however, and the BJP has rejected them, maintaining that the arrest relates to pending criminal proceedings rather than the election campaign.
Congress has decided not to withdraw Pradhan’s candidature. Party general secretary K.C. Venugopal said the party would continue with him as its Nandigram candidate and would raise the arrest as a political issue. Congress leaders in West Bengal have also said that the campaign will continue despite Pradhan’s absence.
West Bengal Congress president Subhankar Sarkar said voters might not see Pradhan personally during the campaign but would see the Congress symbol and party workers campaigning on his behalf.
Legally, the judicial custody does not by itself disqualify Pradhan from contesting the election. But the timing creates a significant practical restriction: the campaign is scheduled to end on October 4, while Pradhan’s custody order runs until October 3. The Nandigram bypoll is scheduled for October 6.
The Nandigram seat became vacant after Suvendu Adhikari resigned from the constituency in May and retained Bhabanipur after winning both seats in the 2026 Assembly election. The forthcoming bypoll has therefore acquired wider political significance in West Bengal.
The latest development places Pradhan’s legal proceedings directly alongside an intensely contested electoral timetable. Whether the pending cases proceed independently through the courts and how his party manages the campaign in his absence will now be closely watched as Nandigram moves toward polling day.
