Kolkata: Sanchita De Pradhan, a schoolteacher in her 40s and a Trinamool worker who has never contested beyond panchayat polls, is party’s candidate for the Nandigram bypoll — a seat Mamata Banerjee herself had contested in 2021.
A resident of Boyal-2 gram panchayat in Nandigram, De Pradhan served on the Nandigram Block II panchayat samiti from 2013 to 2023, holding the women and child welfare portfolio from 2013 to 2018 and the education portfolio from 2018 to 2023.
In 2022, Calcutta High Court ordered the termination of services of 269 primary teachers — De Pradhan among them — over alleged irregularities in appointments through a second merit list in the 2014 TET recruitment drive. The Nandigram seat fell vacant after CM Suvendu Adhikari resigned as MLA following his 2026 election victory over Trinamool’s Pabitra Kar. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Kolkata | Silver Rate in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata | Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Petrol Price in Kolkata | Diesel Price in Kolkata | CNG Price in Kolkata | LPG Price in Kolkata Stay updated with the latest Kolkata news.
Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh called the HC order a “legal technicality” that cast no aspersion on her work. BJP may use police, CBI and NIA to intimidate party workers, but how will they stop mothers and daughters from voting?” he said. I welcome it and have accepted it with humility as a party worker. Any election is difficult. It is not just Nandigram; elections are difficult everywhere. The senior leadership will decide, and the party workers will also stand by me. She began her teaching career at Narsinghapur Board Primary School in Nandigram Block II and is currently posted at North Boyal Primary School. She now resides in Tamluk. For some time now, she has been embroiled in a legal complication. The affected teachers appealed to the Supreme Court , which granted an interim stay, allowing them to continue working pending further proceedings. “She can pull off an upset. Download the TOI App.
On Monday, De Pradhan said, “Mamata Banerjee nominated me as the candidate from Trinamool yesterday.