NEW DELHI: Explaining his decision to vacate his Nandigram stronghold and retain Bhabanipur, West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari said on Wednesday that vacating the Bhabanipur seat would have given his predecessor, Mamata Banerjee, another opportunity to contest the subsequent bypoll and return to the state assembly.Adhikari, who won both seats in the West Bengal assembly elections in April, defeated Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur. He had also defeated the then chief minister in Nandigram in the 2021 assembly elections, following which Banerjee contested a bypoll from Bhabanipur and won.The chief minister also took a dig at his predecessor, suggesting that she should retire from electoral politics given her age.“Had I vacated Bhabanipur, the person (Mamata Banerjee) I had defeated twice would have got another opportunity to contest an election.

I did not want to give her that opportunity. I had trounced her in Bhabanipur, and I would urge her not to contest elections any more. You have already crossed 75 years of age. There is no need to enter the electoral fray any further. You should take rest at home,” PTI quoted Adhikari as saying.He made the remarks after Hasirani Rath and Shakharav Sarkar were sworn in as BJP MLAs following their victories in the Nandigram and Rejinagar bypolls earlier this month.

The BJP leader also sought to reassure people in Nandigram, who he said were “upset” with him for leaving the constituency. He asserted that he would fulfil his commitments to them through Hasirani Rath, the newly elected MLA from Nandigram.“The people of Nandigram were upset with me for leaving the constituency, but I have explained my decision to them. I had to leave Nandigram for this reason. The people have now elected Hasirani Rath with a margin of 1.22 lakh votes.

I will fulfil my promise to them through her,” he added.Hasirani Rath is the mother of Chandranath Rath, Adhikari’s aide who was shot dead on May 6, two days after the West Bengal assembly election results were declared. The BJP came to power in the state for the first time, ending the Trinamool Congress’s 15-year rule.

Turning to the murder of Chandranath Rath, Adhikari alleged that his aide was killed because of his association with him, describing it as a “supari”, or contract killing.“Chandranath was murdered simply because he was my aide. The CBI has arrested seven people, including the shooters and contract killers. What remains to be established is where the Rs 2 crore ‘supari’ for the contract killing came from. Was it Camac Street, Kalighat or Diamond Harbour? Once that is known, the investigation will be complete,” he said.Adhikari appeared to be referring to Camac Street, associated with the office of Trinamool Congress national general secretary and Mamata's nephew Abhishek Banerjee; Kalighat, where Mamata Banerjee resides; and Diamond Harbour, the Lok Sabha constituency represented by Abhishek Banerjee.