Her inaugural campaign rally had the support of Congress leaders who shared the dais with her.

At the Hazrakata grounds in Nandigram, the TMC and Congress volunteers mingled together, marked only by their distinctive badges. At the dais, Sukhendu Shekhar Roy, a senior Congress leader said to be an emissary of Pranab Mukherjee, stood close to Banerjee, sending out a clear message that their joint fight against the ruling CPI(M) had the blessings of the Congress high command.

The TMC chief commemorated the second anniversary of the March 14 police firing in Nandigram that had killed 14 people. She also raised her pitch against the proposed chemical hub at Nayachar, the alternative site to Nandigam as announced by the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Government.

"Before the panchayat elections, I started my campaign from Nandigram and the people of Bengal supported us overwhelmingly. Now, before the Lok Sabha elections, it is Nandigram which will inspire us once again. How can we forget Nandigram where so many people were killed by the CPM Government, so many women were raped and so many are still missing? The wounds of Nandigram have not yet healed," Banerjee said at the rally.

Stressing on her alliance with the Congress, she said, "Pranab Mukherjee has sent Sukhendu Shekhar Roy, senior Congress leader, to share the dais with us. Together, we will drive the CPI(M) out of Bengal."

In his speech, Roy returned the compliment: "We wanted the anti-CPM vote not to be divided. We will campaign and fight in a unified manner under the leadership of Banerjee. She is our leader."

Daring the CPM-led Left Front Government to try to "suppress democracy" as it did two years ago, the Trinamool chief said, "I would like to dedicate my party's poll manifesto to the martyrs of Nandigram."

She said the manifesto would be released by the party in four to five days.