Tamluk, Jan. 26: Subhendu Adhikari today virtually began campaigning for the Nandigram Assembly constituency a little over a month after Mamata Banerjee announced at a rally in East Midnapore that the MP would contest the seat.

Adhikari, the Tamluk MP, led a 50,000-strong procession in Nandigram with participants shouting slogans asking people to ensure that the leader won by over 1 lakh votes. The marchers walked 8km for two hours from Terotekia to Tengua More.

The processionists shouted slogans such as "Nandigramer Trinamul prarthi Subhendu Adhikari-ke lakshadhik vote -e joyi korun (Ensure Nandigram Trinamul candidate Subhendhu Adhikari's victory by over 1 lakh votes.)"

Along the stretch, hundreds of posters and festoons had been put up requesting votes for Adhikari.

Abu Taher, the sabhapati of the Nandigram panchayat samiti, said: "We have begun the campaign for Subhenduda in advance because Mamatadi has already announced his candidature for the Nandigram seat. This would help us reach out to people long before the elections," he said.

Asked if he had begun campaigning for the Assembly elections, Adhikari said: "You may call it my campaign. But to me, this (the procession) was meant to highlight Mamatadi's development activities across Bengal."

Told about the slogans and the festoons, he said: "It might be that some enthusiastic party activists did all these because they love me. Don't read much into it."

At a rally in Nandigram's Tekhali on December 21, Mamata had said: "I want Subhendu to work for Bengal and he will be the candidate from here. I know he is an MP but I want him to join the cabinet."

Feroza Bibi, whose son was among the 14 land protesters who were killed in the police firing in Nandigram in 2007, is the sitting MLA of the constituency. If Adhikari is elected an MLA, he will have to resign as MP.

Those who participated in today's procession said the "advance campaign" would help the party get the support of those who are "not in favour of Trinamul".

"Although we know that our victory in Nandigram is certain, we don't want to take a risk. The small number of people who are not in favour of us have to be won over. That is why the advance campaigning was done," said Sabita Maity, 45, a homemaker who walked in the procession.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Tamluk MP Adhikari had got a lead of 87,283 votes from the Nandigram Assembly segment. In 2011, Feroza had won the Nandigram Assembly seat by a margin of 43,640 votes.