West Bengal polls: Suvendu wants to contest from Nandigram again, open to Bhabanipur if BJP asks
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal's Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday said he would prefer to contest the upcoming assembly elections from the Nandigram seat, while not ruling out the possibility of fighting from other constituencies, including Bhabanipur, if directed by his party.
Speaking to reporters, the senior BJP leader said the decision on candidature would rest with the party, but described Nandigram as his first choice.
"In the BJP, there are no individual decisions. This is not a 'pishi-bhaipo' (aunt-nephew) party," he said in an apparent dig at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, the national general secretary of TMC.
"Decisions in the BJP are taken collectively. Even if the party does not field me, that is fine; if it asks me to contest, that is also fine," he said.
However, when asked about his personal preference, Adhikari said he would like to contest again from Nandigram, where he defeated the chief minister in 2021.
"If you ask me, I would say I will contest from Nandigram. But if the BJP leadership asks me to do something else, that will also be followed. Nandigram is my political base and emotional asset," he said.
Asked about the possibility of contesting from Bhabanipur, the constituency represented by the CM, Adhikari reiterated that he would abide by the party’s decision.
His remarks have renewed speculation about whether he might contest from more than one constituency in the upcoming assembly.
The Nandigram seat gained national prominence during the 2021 assembly elections when Adhikari defeated Banerjee in a high-profile contest. Banerjee later returned to the assembly after winning a by-election from Bhabanipur.
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Three company directors held in Rs 100-crore investment fraud in Kochi
Kochi (Kerala) (PTI): Police on Sunday arrested three directors of a firm accused of cheating hundreds of investors of over Rs 100 crore through a fake investment scheme linked to agricultural tourism here, officials said.
The accused were identified as Muraleedharan, Ashik Murali and Akhil Murali, all natives of Thrissur.
The arrests were made by the Kalamassery police in connection with a fraud involving ATCOS (Agri Tourism Cooperative Society), a firm headquartered at Pathadipalam here.
Police said the company had promised high returns by collecting investments from the public in the agricultural tourism sector, but allegedly cheated hundreds of people and fled with the money.
ATCOS was registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act and operated 13 branches across various districts in Kerala, besides a branch in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, officials said.
When investors failed to receive their promised returns or the invested amount, complaints were filed with the police.
Officials said around 54 cases have been registered against the firm in 32 police stations across the state, including 29 cases at the Kalamassery police station alone.
Following instructions from Kochi City Police Commissioner K S Mahesh Kumar, a special investigation team was formed under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Shehensha and Thrikkakara ACP Manoj Kumar.
The team traced the accused to an apartment in Amala Nagar in Thrissur, where they had been hiding after secretly renting the flat, officials said.
The bank accounts of the accused have been frozen, and steps have been initiated to trace their assets, officials said.
Police also conducted a raid at the company’s office at Pathadipalam and seized several documents related to the case.
The accused were produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Kalamassery, which remanded them to judicial custody and sent them to Kakkanad jail.
Police said they would seek the custody of the accused for further interrogation as the investigation continues.
