Fresh Setback to Mamata-led TMC Faction as Rejinagar Bypoll Candidate Withdraws a Day After Nandigram Nominee

Kolkata: In another blow to the Mamata Banerjee-led faction of the Trinamool Congress, its candidate for the Rejinagar Assembly bypoll in Murshidabad district, Rabiul Alam Chowdhury, withdrew his nomination on Saturday, a day after the faction's candidate pulled out of the Nandigram contest.

Chowdhury said party workers allegedly find it difficult to campaign under the new name and symbol allotted to the faction by the Election Commission, and cited it as the main reason for his decision. He also alleged administrative pressure on party workers, claiming several activists had been arrested, making it difficult to mount a campaign.

The withdrawal follows Friday's development in Nandigram, where the faction's candidate, Sanchita Pradhan Dey, withdrew her nomination after meeting West Bengal Chief Minister and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari. Banerjee had subsequently extended her support to the Congress candidate in that constituency, while indicating on Friday that a decision on Rejinagar would come later.

With candidates withdrawn from both seats, it marks the first time since 1998 that a West Bengal election will be contested without the presence of a party founded and led by Banerjee. The development follows the Election Commission's decision to allot the name "Mamata All India Trinamool Congress" and the "Football Player" symbol to Banerjee's faction, while the rival faction received the name "Democratic Trinamool Congress" and the "Envelope" symbol, after the poll body froze both factions' use of the original party name and symbol pending resolution of the leadership dispute.