Sanchita Pradhan Dey, the candidate of the Mamata Banerjee-led faction of the Trinamool Congress for the Nandigram Assembly bypoll, has withdrawn her nomination, in a fresh development in the run-up to the October 6 election. The development comes days after the Mamata-led faction named Dey as its Nandigram candidate on September 13. The reason for her decision has not been made public so far.
Dey is a grassroots worker and schoolteacher and had unsuccessfully contested a panchayat samiti seat from Nandigram II in the 2023 panchayat elections. The Mamata-led faction had announced Dey’s candidature alongside that of Rabiul Alam Chowdhury, who was named its candidate for the Rejinagar Assembly constituency in Murshidabad.
This is the same Assembly constituency that the chief of the Trinamool Congress, now the Mamata All India Trinamool Congress, had lost to her one-time lieutenant, Suvendu Adhikari, in 2021.
Her party, she said, would support the Congress in Nandigram, just days after it denied any such arrangement. The latest development comes amid an ongoing dispute within the Trinamool Congress, with rival factions led by Mamata Banerjee and Ritabrata Banerjee laying claim to the party’s name and election symbol. Both factions have fielded candidates for the bypolls, with the Election Commission dealing with the dispute over the party’s identity and symbol.
Earlier reporting noted: In another jolt to Mamata Banerjee a day after her faction of the Trinamool Congress was not allotted the party symbol and logo, her candidate has withdrawn from the bypoll for the Nandigram seat. Earlier reporting noted: The last day for filing the nominations was Wednesday and, left without a candidate, Banerjee sprung a surprise during the press conference. Earlier reporting noted: Sources said the candidate, Sanchita Pradhan Dey, met Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday.
