Mamata Banerjee cancels Nandigram rally as main organiser Akhil Giri tests Covid-19 positive

The rally will be held on a different date by Trinamool MP Subrata Bakshi.

"The rally has been cancelled as Akhil Giri, who is the main organiser, has tested positive. The rally will be held by Subrata Bakshi on a different date," veteran Trinamool leader Subrata Mukherjee said.

The rally had assumed significance as Nandigram is the constituency from where Trinamool turncoat Suvendu Adhikari, who is now in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was elected to the state assembly.

Interestingly, Adhikari, who has resigned as the MLA, is scheduled to organise a rally in Nandigram on Jan 8.

Taking a dig at the Trinamool over the cancellation of the rally, state BJP president Dilip Ghosh told reporters, "They have cancelled because they got afraid of Suvendu Adhikari's rally which will be held the next day. No where would they be able to hold a rally except in Kalighat (Mamata Banerjee's residential area in Kolkata)."

The date Jan 7 is significant as it marks the 2007 Nandigram land movement, spearheaded by then Trinamool leader Adhikari, which was a protest against the Left Front government's acquisition of land for a chemical hub in the region.

At least 11 people were killed in a police firing under the Left regime.