Why Are Independents Contesting Bengal Assembly Polls From Nandigram

As mainstream parties fight it out for political one- upmanship in the agrarian constituency, the independents have a different personalised agenda.

Amid the fight of titans in West Bengal's Nandigram in the upcoming assembly elections, the high-profile constituency is also witnessing the battle of the minnows with independents in the fray for a variety of causes ranging from a bid to have their name etched in local folklore to restoring a father's lost honour. As mainstream parties fight it out for political one- upmanship in the agrarian constituency, the independents have a different personalised agenda. 28-year-old Sheikh Saddam Hossain is fighting to restore the honour of his father Mohammed Ilyas, who is a former two-time CPI MLA from Nandigram. Ilyas had to resign in 2007, months after he was caught on camera allegedly taking a bribe from an NGO for development work in a sting operation by a TV channel.