NANDIGRAM: A day after CM Suvendu Adhikari urged minority voters to build a “friendship” with BJP ahead of the Oct 6 bypolls, local Muslim youths set up a temporary party office in Sarberia using bamboo, tarpaulin and cloth.The office displays portraits of Adhikari and BJP candidate Hasirani Rath.Addressing voters on Saturday, Adhikari said the bypolls in Nandigram and minority-dominated Rejinagar offered minority voters an opportunity to support BJP.“Will our minority brothers and sisters keep turning their faces away from us? Oct 6 is an auspicious day to build a friendship. Prime Minister Narendra Modi works for everyone, and the CM will also work for everyone,” he said, calling polling day “Friendship Day” and promising development.The office was built and inaugurated by members of the minority community in Sarberia village, under the Kendamari area. Local netas said it was the first BJP constituency office in Nandigram established directly by minority supporters.Sanowar Ali Saha, who manages the office, said local Muslim youths had set up the unit following Adhikari’s appeal on Friday to minority voters to “befriend” the BJP and join its development initiatives.Saha, an independent panchayat election winner and former Trinamool worker, said residents were backing BJP voluntarily in support of Adhikari’s development agenda.Sarberia, a battleground during the 2007 anti-land acquisition movement and a traditional Trinamool stronghold, has around 1,700 voters, 70% of whom belong to the minority community. Residents at the new office expressed confidence in a BJP victory.Meanwhile, Bengal Congress president Subhankar Sarkar led an open-top vehicle rally from Haripur to Nandigram bus stand with party candidate Milan Pradhan.Pradhan accused BJP of damaging Congress campaign material out of fear of defeat and flagged longstanding deficits in drinking water and healthcare infrastructure in the area.
