Nandigram Bypoll Shakeup: TMC Factions Split Candidate Support
· India · Hindustan Times, Zee News
Sanchita Pradhan Dey withdrew her Nandigram nomination on Friday, hours after meeting West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari and his wife. At 4.30pm, Mamata Banerjee backed Congress candidate Milan Pradhan, and at 6.30pm he was arrested by West Bengal police in a 2007 murder case. Pradhan faced at least six pending murder cases, all registered after 2007 anti-land acquisition protests, according to his election affidavit. The nomination shakeup occurred as the Election Commission allotted Banerjee's faction the name Mamata All India Trinamool Congress and the football player symbol, while Arup Roy's rebel faction received Democratic Trinamool Congress and the envelope symbol. Dey gave no public reason for her withdrawal, and the reason for her meeting with Adhikari remains unclear. The Nandigram and Rejinagar bypolls are scheduled for October 6 and mark the first major electoral test after Banerjee lost power this summer.
Why it matters
The split affects the TMC campaign in Nandigram, where Suvendu Adhikari won by 9,665 votes in 2026 before transferring to Bhabanipur. Pradhan's arrest and the rival factions' separate symbols and names add legal and organisational pressure to the October 6 contest.
Read the original report — Hindustan Times
Join us on Telegram
Breaking news the moment it lands. At 10,000 members we ship the Android app.