Kolkata: Former West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee on Friday announced support for Congress candidate Milan Pradhan in the Nandigram Assembly bypoll, hours after her faction’s nominee Sanchita Pradhan Dey withdrew from the contest.
Banerjee said her faction would not field another candidate from Nandigram and would instead support Pradhan, presenting the decision as an effort to strengthen unity among parties of the INDIA bloc.
The development came on a politically significant day for the Trinamool Congress, with the Election Commission assigning separate names and symbols to the two rival factions following an internal party dispute.
Mamata announces support for Congress candidate
Addressing reporters, Banerjee said her faction was prepared to fight the upcoming election while backing the Congress nominee in Nandigram.
“We are ready to fight it out. I want the BJP to go from India. Our full solidarity is with the INDIA alliance,” she said.
Banerjee said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had spoken to her on Thursday and that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had also expressed support online.
The decision means the Mamata-led faction will not put up a separate candidate against Milan Pradhan in Nandigram for the October 6 bypoll.
The move follows the withdrawal of Sanchita Pradhan Dey, who had been announced as the candidate of Banerjee’s faction. Reports said she withdrew her candidature after a meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.
Sanchita Pradhan Dey withdraws from race
Sanchita Pradhan Dey’s withdrawal came roughly three weeks before polling in Nandigram.
Her decision changed the contest after the Mamata-led camp had initially entered the bypoll with its own nominee. Banerjee subsequently chose to support the Congress candidate instead of selecting a replacement.
Nandigram has particular political significance in West Bengal because of its history as a constituency closely associated with Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari, who is now a prominent political rival.
The circumstances surrounding Pradhan Dey’s withdrawal have also become part of the political debate, with different camps offering their own interpretations of the development.
Milan Pradhan arrested after Mamata’s announcement
In a further development on Friday, Congress candidate Milan Pradhan was arrested in connection with an old murder case, according to multiple reports.
The arrest took place hours after Banerjee announced her support for him in the Nandigram bypoll. Reports said the case relates to an alleged murder connected with the 2007 Nandigram land-acquisition movement.
The arrest adds another complication to the October 6 contest. The legal proceedings and allegations in the case will have to be considered separately from Pradhan’s candidature and the political support announced by Banerjee.
Election Commission freezes original TMC identity
The political developments unfolded alongside an Election Commission order concerning the Trinamool Congress’s name and election symbol.
The poll panel issued an interim order preventing the rival factions from using the name All India Trinamool Congress and its traditional flowers and grass symbol until the dispute over the party’s identity is resolved.
The Election Commission said there were two rival groups claiming to represent the party and directed them to submit alternative names and symbols for the upcoming bypolls.
The order applies to the bypolls scheduled in Nandigram and Rejinagar, making the dispute particularly important because candidates from the rival groups are already in the electoral process.
Mamata faction gets football player symbol
On Friday, the Election Commission allotted the name Mamata All India Trinamool Congress to the faction led by Banerjee.
The faction was allotted the Football Player election symbol for the upcoming bypolls.
The rival faction led by Arup Roy was allotted the name Democratic Trinamool Congress and the Envelope symbol. The interim arrangement is intended for the current electoral contests while the larger dispute over the original party name and symbol remains before the Election Commission.
The Commission’s decision means that neither faction will contest these bypolls using the original Trinamool Congress name and its traditional symbol.
Banerjee calls Election Commission order a ‘black day’
Banerjee criticised the Election Commission’s decision to freeze the party’s name and symbol, describing it as a “black day” for Indian democracy.
She alleged political bias and vendetta and claimed that thousands of party workers had been jailed. She also said she was under house arrest.
These claims were made by Banerjee and represent her assessment of the situation. The Election Commission’s interim order was issued in the context of a dispute between rival factions over control of the party and its electoral identity.
Banerjee said her faction would challenge the arrangement and vowed not to accept the changes without a fight.
“We will never bow down our head and we will bounce back,” she said.
Nandigram bypoll set for October 6
The Nandigram Assembly bypoll is scheduled for October 6. The contest is taking place amid the split in the Trinamool Congress, the withdrawal of the Mamata faction’s candidate and the subsequent decision to support Congress.
The Election Commission’s interim arrangement means voters will see the rival TMC factions under different names and symbols during the bypoll.
The Congress, meanwhile, has retained Milan Pradhan as its candidate despite the reported arrest, with the legal developments now adding another dimension to the campaign.
INDIA bloc unity in focus
Banerjee’s decision to support Pradhan places opposition coordination at the centre of the Nandigram contest.
Her remarks indicate that the decision was linked to her stated objective of maintaining solidarity among INDIA bloc parties. However, the precise implications for seat-level coordination will depend on how the Congress and other opposition groups organise their campaigns ahead of polling.
The development also comes at a time when the Trinamool Congress itself is dealing with an unresolved organisational and legal dispute over its name, symbol and representation.
With the October 6 election approaching, Nandigram is therefore set to be contested against the backdrop of both a changing opposition strategy and a major dispute over the identity of one of West Bengal’s principal political parties.