Former West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC President Mamata Banerjee and her camp accused the BJP government of “acting in an authoritarian manner to crush dissent and win the bypoll by a huge margin”.
| Photo Credit: PTI
In the ongoing season of political uncertainties in West Bengal, the candidate of Mamata Banerjee’s faction of the Trinamool Congress for the byelection to Rejinagar Assembly seat Rabiul Alam Chowdhury on Saturday (September 19, 2026) announced his withdrawal from the contest, only to retract his statement in less than two hours. Mr. Chowdhury said that he decided to contest the election on October 6 as per the wishes of Ms. Banerjee.
On Friday, Ms. Banerjee’s party’s Nandigram byelection nominee Sanchita Pradhan Dey withdrew her candidature following a meeting with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. Hours after Ms. Banerjee announced electoral support to Congress candidate Milan Pradhan, he was arrested in a 19-year old case.
Rabiul Alam Chowdhury, the candidate of Mamata Banerjee’s faction of Trinamool Congress, contesting from Rejinagar Assembly constituency.
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Speaking to media persons in Murshidabad, Mr. Chowdhury said that it was becoming difficult for him to motivate grassroots workers who have been facing harassment on a regular basis and he was considering to withdraw from the contest. He also added that a new symbol allotted by the Election Commission will prove to be a challenge for the byelection.
The Election Commission has allotted the ‘footballer’ symbol to Mamata’s faction of the Trinamool Congress and assigned it the name ‘Mamata All India Trinamool Congress’.
‘Following Didi’s instructions’
Hours later, Mr. Chowdhury said that he was asked by Ms. Banerjee not to withdraw from the contest. “I will be contesting the bypoll. We are in Didi’s party and we cannot do anything outside her wishes. So, following Didi’s instructions, I am retaining my candidature,” Mr. Chowdhury said.
The former MLA said that he has been assured of security by the police after Ms. Banerjee intervened. “Even if only 10 workers stand by me, I will take them along and begin a door-to-door campaign,” he said.
Meanwhile, the freezing of symbol and name of the All India Trinamool Congress has led to unexpected circumstances with the Indian Secular Front (ISF) turning out to be an unlikely loser. The rival faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee has been awarded the name ‘Democratic Trinamool Congress’ and the symbol of ‘envelope’.
New election symbols
ISF was awarded the ‘envelope’ symbol in the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly polls. As the rebel Trinamool Congress faction has been allotted the symbol, the ISF candidates have been given symbol of a cupboard.
Elections to Rejinagar and Nandigram are scheduled on October 6 and the counting of votes will be held on October 9.
Published – September 19, 2026 05:08 pm IST
