Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on September 19. The two clashed over the arrest of Milan Pradhan, the Congress candidate for the Nandigram bypoll. Police apprehended Pradhan based on four pending warrants for non-bailable offenses, including murder, attempted murder, abduction, and rioting with deadly weapons. These charges stem from the 2007 anti-land acquisition protests in Nandigram.
Sarma mocked Gandhi's fluctuating appearance while questioning his defense of a candidate with such a criminal history. "Rahul Gandhi is a mad person; sometimes you see him with a beard, sometimes clean-shaven," Sarma told reporters at Madhupur Sattra in Cooch Behar. He insisted that the arrest was standard police duty, not a political act. State officials noted that Pradhan had been dodging arrest for years.
The arrest sparked a firestorm. Gandhi labeled the move a "murder of democracy" and claimed the state is targeting the Opposition. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee backed this sentiment, questioning why authorities revived the case immediately after her Trinamool Congress pledged support for the Congress candidate. Banerjee accused the BJP of using old legal files as a weapon of intimidation. The BJP denied these claims, sticking to its stance that the arrest follows legal procedure regardless of the election calendar.
Updated at 20th September 2026 at 1:47am
Beyond the Nandigram arrest, the political temperature spiked after the Election Commission froze the Trinamool Congress name and symbol due to an internal factional dispute. Officials allotted the Mamata Banerjee-led faction the Football Player symbol ahead of the October 6 bypolls. Sarma took a jab at the development, declaring, The football will get deflated. He claimed Banerjee would soon lose power and be relegated to watching development work led by Suvendu Adhikari.
The electoral confusion deepened in the Rejinagar constituency, where Rabiul Alam Chowdhury, a candidate for the Banerjee-led faction, briefly pulled out of the race. Chowdhury cited pressure on his workers and confusion over the new party symbol before reversing his decision hours later following a direct conversation with Banerjee.
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