Rejinagar drama: Mamata candidate withdraws, changes mind within hours
Rabiul Alam Chowdhury first cites new party symbol and pressure on workers, then says Mamata Banerjee asked him to stay in Assembly by-poll contest
Mamata camp candidate Rabiul Alam Chowdhury first announces withdrawal from Rejinagar by-poll, reverses decision after speaking to Mamata Banerjee.
He cited difficulties over the new election symbol, pressure on workers and arrests before deciding to stay in the contest.
U-turn comes a day after the Mamata camp withdrew its Nandigram candidate and backed Congress nominee Milan Pradhan.
The political drama surrounding the Nandigram and Rejinagar by-elections in West Bengal acquired another twist on Saturday, 19 September, with the Mamata Banerjee camp's candidate in Rejinagar first announcing his withdrawal and then reversing the decision within hours after speaking to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) founder.
Rabiul Alam Chowdhury announced on Saturday morning that he would withdraw his nomination and said he would take party workers from Beldanga to the Murshidabad district administrative building in Berhampore to complete the formalities.
The decision, however, proved short-lived. After speaking to Banerjee, Rabiul said he would remain in the contest and later told reporters that he would begin campaigning immediately.
"I have retracted from my earlier decision after speaking to my supremo Mamata Banerjee. Didi asked me to fight and I will keep her word. Even if there are few people with me, I will start campaigning today," he said after visiting Amdanga police station.
The abrupt U-turn left the Rejinagar contest uncertain for much of the day. Earlier, Rabiul had said contesting the election had become extremely difficult after the Election Commission of India (ECI) barred the two rival TMC factions from using the party's original name and reserved symbol.
The ECI has allotted Banerjee's faction the name 'Mamata All India Trinamool Congress' and the 'football player' symbol, while the faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee has been given the name 'Democratic Trinamool Congress' and the 'envelope' symbol.
Rabiul had argued that there was too little time to familiarise voters with a new symbol and mobilise party workers for the campaign. He also alleged that workers were being pressured and several had been arrested. "The party has been assigned a new symbol. We are unable to mobilize workers on the ground. Pressure is being applied in various ways, and many have been arrested. How, then, can we contest the election? That is why I have decided to step down," he had said.
The reversal drew attacks from rival camps. Riju Datta of the Ritabrata faction wrote on X that after Nandigram, the Mamata camp had now withdrawn its candidate in Rejinagar, alleging that Banerjee had given the BJP "a big head start" in both constituencies.
BJP candidate Sakharav Sarkar also seized on the episode, saying, "They are taking a U-turn anytime. This is the real face of the party. We are not bothered about whether he stays or not. We are the only ones who can develop Bengal and hence people will vote for us."
TMC leader Kunal Ghosh, however, offered a different explanation for the initial announcement. He said Rabiul had been under pressure from the BJP and that some of his associates were frightened and had misled him. "He has a lot of pressure on him from BJP in Rejinagar. Alam said some of his close associates are afraid and also misguided him. So, he was a little perplexed and gave a statement to the media. However, after speaking to Mamata Banerjee, he decided to fight the elections," Ghosh said.
The Rejinagar episode came a day after a similar development in Nandigram. Sanchita Pradhan Dey, the Mamata camp's candidate, withdrew her nomination on Friday afternoon after meeting chief minister Suvendu Adhikari at Nabanna. Banerjee subsequently announced that her faction would support Congress candidate Milan Pradhan, who was arrested hours later.
The Nandigram and Rejinagar by-elections are scheduled for 6 October, with counting on 9 October. While Banerjee has announced support for the Congress candidate in Nandigram, she has so far indicated that she will "think about it later" regarding Rejinagar.