Mamata camp backs Congress after Nandigram candidate withdraws (Img: X)
Former West Bengal chief minister and TMC founder Mamata Banerjee said on Friday that her faction would not contest the Nandigram bypoll and would instead support Congress candidate Milan Pradhan in the October 6 election.
The decision came after Sanchita Pradhan Dey, the candidate fielded by the Mamata Banerjee camp, withdrew her nomination on the final day for withdrawal. Pradhan had earlier met West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari in Kolkata, with a photograph of their meeting circulating on social media.
Banerjee said her faction would not field another candidate from Nandigram and described the decision as a show of solidarity with the INDIA alliance as the Opposition seeks to present a united challenge to the BJP.
She also said she had spoken to Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Thursday.
The development comes amid a dispute over the TMC’s identity after the Election Commission barred both rival factions from using the All India Trinamool Congress name and its traditional ‘Jora Ghash Phul’ symbol in the bypolls.
The Election Commission on Friday allotted new identities to the rival factions. The Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee-led group was given the name “Mamata All India Trinamool Congress” and the symbol “Football Player”.
The Ritabrata Banerjee-led faction was allotted the name “Democratic Trinamool Congress” and the symbol “Envelope”. The Commission recognised both groups as political parties in West Bengal, Meghalaya and Tripura.
The new names and symbols will remain in force until the EC delivers its final decision on the claim to the original party name and “Flowers & Grass” symbol.
Nandigram has long been politically significant for the TMC. The constituency was central to the 2007 anti-land acquisition movement that helped the party challenge the Left Front’s 34-year rule.
It also remains closely associated with the rivalry between Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari. Banerjee lost the 2021 Assembly election from Nandigram to Adhikari, her former protege who had joined the BJP.
Adhikari won the seat again in the 2026 Assembly polls but retained Bhabanipur and vacated Nandigram, triggering the bypoll. Voting in Nandigram and Rejinagar will take place on October 6, with counting scheduled for October 9.
