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TMC rebels have offered not to field a candidate in the Nandigram bypoll if Mamata Banerjee decides to contest the seat and return to the Assembly.
Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee
The upcoming Nandigram bypoll could create an unusual political situation for Mamata Banerjee. The rebel faction of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has indicated that it could stay out of the contest if the West Bengal Chief Minister decides to fight from the seat.
The October 6 bypoll was necessitated after BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari, who defeated Mamata in Nandigram, vacated the constituency. Mamata has not yet announced whether she will contest the seat.
Ritabrata Banerjee, who heads the rebel TMC group, said in New Delhi on Saturday that the faction had already settled on a candidate, although the name had not been made public.
“Our candidate selection has been decided collectively but hasn’t been announced yet,” he was quoted as saying by NDTV.
Ritabrata then turned his attention to Mamata’s electoral record, while also leaving the door open for her to contest Nandigram.
“Mamata Banerjee never wins in normal elections. But she wins in by-elections. And it doesn’t look good, right, that Mamata Banerjee lost in her own locality and lost at her booth in this election,” he said.
His remarks referred to Mamata’s defeat in Bhabanipur, where she lost to the BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari. Adhikari also defeated her in Nandigram and went on to become Chief Minister, bringing an end to her 15-year rule.
Despite the criticism, Ritabrata said the rebels wanted Mamata in the Assembly.
“We also want Mamata Banerjee to come to the assembly,” he said.
Rebels Offer To Stay Out Of Nandigram
TMC MLA Akhruzzaman, who is part of the rebel faction, also pointed to Mamata’s previous defeat in Nandigram.
“She has never won a general election from Nandigram,” he said, referring to her 2021 defeat against Adhikari.
He said the rebels were prepared to make an offer to Mamata if she chose to contest the bypoll.
“So, now that a by-election is happening, we said, ‘Come to Nandigram. We will not field a candidate. Win and come to the assembly, and we will work together for development’,” Akhruzzaman said.
Nandigram holds particular significance in Mamata’s political journey. Her campaign against farmland acquisition in the area became one of the defining movements that helped the TMC defeat the Left Front in the 2011 Assembly election.
The party, however, is now split into rival factions. After the electoral rout, most TMC MLAs broke away and selected Ritabrata as their Leader of Opposition. They blamed party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee for the defeat.
The rebels have maintained that their main disagreement is with Abhishek rather than Mamata. A large number of TMC MPs also subsequently moved away from her faction.
Rejinagar Also Goes To Polls
Nandigram is not the only constituency facing a bypoll. Rejinagar will also go to the polls.
The seat fell vacant after former TMC leader Humayun Kabir, who had formed the Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) before the elections, resigned. Kabir had won both Rejinagar and Naoda but chose to retain Naoda.
Meanwhile, the BJP has said it is confident of winning the bypolls regardless of which faction contests on the TMC election symbol. The dispute over the party symbol is already before the Election Commission.
Quick Answers
Ask News18The Nandigram by-election, scheduled for October 6, was necessitated after BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari vacated the seat. Adhikari, who is also the Chief Minister, had won both the Nandigram and Bhabanipur constituencies in the 2026 assembly elections but chose to resign from his Nandigram seat while retaining his other post.
Ask News18About the Author
Anushka Vats is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for storytelling and a curiosity that extends beyond the newsroom. She covers both national and international news. For more stories, you can …Read More
September 12, 2026, 9:41 PM IST
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