At the West Bengal Assembly swearing‑in on Wednesday, Adhikari told the house that he would keep Bhabanipur and step back from Nandigram, citing the risk of Mamata Banerjee contesting the former seat in a by‑election.
He reminded members that he had already beaten Banerjee in Bhabanipur in 2026 and earlier in Nandigram in 2021, and suggested that the 75‑year‑old former chief minister consider retiring.
Speaking further, he thanked voters in Nandigram for their support of the BJP and acknowledged that Hasirani Rath, the mother of his former aide Chandranath Rath—who was murdered in May—will now contest the seat.
Adhikari noted that the Central Bureau of Investigation had arrested seven suspects in the Rath case and that a Rs 2 crore contract was allegedly offered for the murder, though investigators have yet to identify the financier.
When Ritabrata Banerjee raised alarms over a stolen vehicle containing internal documents, Adhikari vowed to hand over the probe to the Criminal Investigation Department if the opposition filed a formal complaint, prompting Banerjee’s faction to say it would approach the state police.
With the BJP now fielding a new candidate in Nandigram, the next stage will be the party’s campaign for the upcoming bye‑election, while the state government watches for any fallout from the Rath murder investigation.