Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday announced that her faction of the Trinamool Congress will support Congress candidate Milan Pradhan in the upcoming Nandigram Assembly bypoll.
The decision came after Sanchita Pradhan Dey, who had been fielded by the Mamata-led faction, withdrew her nomination from the contest. The development came just hours after she met West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari at the state secretariat in Kolkata.
Mamata said her faction would not nominate another candidate from Nandigram and would instead back the Congress nominee. She linked the decision to cooperation within the INDIA alliance.
“We are ready to fight it out. I want the BJP to go from India. Our full solidarity is with the INDIA alliance,” Mamata said at a press conference.
The Nandigram bypoll is scheduled for October 6. The withdrawal of Sanchita Pradhan Dey leaves the Mamata faction without its own candidate in the constituency, while the faction has now declared support for Congress candidate Milan Pradhan.
Sanchita Pradhan Dey Withdraws Nomination
Pradhan Dey withdrew her candidature a day before the deadline for withdrawing nominations. Before taking the decision, she met Suvendu Adhikari at Nabanna. Reports said the meeting took place hours before she announced her withdrawal.
The reason for her withdrawal has not been publicly established. Her meeting with Adhikari, however, attracted attention because he is the sitting West Bengal chief minister and a senior BJP leader.
Mamata Refers to Rahul Gandhi, Kejriwal
During her press conference, Mamata also referred to conversations with other opposition leaders. She said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had called her on Thursday and that AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal had also expressed support.
Mamata said her decision to back Congress was aimed at maintaining solidarity among INDIA alliance parties ahead of the bypoll.
TMC Name and Symbol Dispute
The Nandigram development came on the same day as another major change involving the Trinamool Congress. The Election Commission has assigned new names and symbols to the rival TMC factions for the upcoming bypolls after freezing the original party name and the traditional “Flowers and Grass” symbol.
The Mamata-led faction has been allotted the name “Mamata All India Trinamool Congress” and the Football Player symbol. The rival faction has been given the name “Democratic Trinamool Congress” and the Envelope symbol.
Mamata has criticised the Election Commission’s decision and said her faction would continue its political fight. The Nandigram decision now adds another significant development to the dispute as the October 6 bypoll approaches.
