A major political storm has broken out in West Bengal after Shahidul Haque, the candidate of the Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) from the politically sensitive Nandigram Assembly constituency, levelled serious allegations against the ruling All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) leadership regarding election spending and cash distribution during the polls.
Speaking publicly about the election campaign in Nandigram, Shahidul Haque claimed that the top leadership of the TMC had prepared a massive election budget of nearly Rs 100 crore with the specific objective of defeating senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari in the constituency.
Haque directly named TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and the party’s political consulting group Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) while making the allegations.
According to Haque, large amounts of cash were allegedly distributed among voters through local Trinamool workers and members of I-PAC ahead of polling. He claimed that envelopes containing cash ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 were delivered to households across Nandigram in an attempt to influence voting.
“The common people of Nandigram did take envelopes full of money from the people of Trinamool candidate Pavitra Kar and Abhishek Banerjee, but they went to the booth and voted for the BJP,” Haque alleged.
Praising the electorate of Nandigram, he further claimed that despite allegedly accepting money, voters ultimately chose Suvendu Adhikari over TMC candidate Pavitra Kar.
“Even though they pocketed the money, they chose Suvendu Adhikari instead of voting for Pavitra Kar to form a healthy government in the state. I salute these well-informed people of Nandigram,” he said.
The AJUP candidate also demanded an investigation by central agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), into the alleged flow of funds during the election campaign.
In an even more serious allegation, Shahidul Haque claimed that the money used during the Nandigram election campaign did not come through legal domestic channels. According to him, the alleged ₹100 crore election fund had links to foreign sources.
“This Rs 100 crore spread in Nandigram came from Bangladesh, Pakistan and various foreign countries. This huge foreign money was used in the state elections through hawala or some other illegal route,” he alleged.
Haque further accused Abhishek Banerjee of being directly involved in the alleged collection and distribution of the funds and demanded immediate action by investigative agencies.
“Abhishek Banerjee should be immediately arrested for this anti-national financial conspiracy. There should be a thorough investigation into the source of this money,” he said.
However, while making the allegations, Haque did not publicly present documentary evidence or disclose the source on the basis of which he made the claims.
The remarks have intensified political tensions in West Bengal, especially around Nandigram, which has remained one of the most politically symbolic battlegrounds in the state ever since the high-profile electoral contest between Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari.
At the time of reporting, no official response had been issued by the TMC leadership or Abhishek Banerjee regarding the allegations made by the AJUP candidate.
