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Mamata Backs Congress After Nandigram Candidate Withdraws Amid TMC Dispute
Mamata Banerjee’s group had chosen Sanchita Pradhan Dey to contest the Nandigram election.
Dey withdrew her nomination after meeting West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.
Because nominations had ended, Banerjee’s group could not put forward a replacement candidate.
Banerjee therefore said her faction would support the Congress candidate.
She said this would help strengthen the INDIA bloc and serve the greater interest of the nation.
The Election Commission also gave the two TMC factions different names and election symbols.
Banerjee criticized that decision and called it unfair and harmful to democracy.
She accused the BJP of trying to weaken opposition parties, allegations the BJP has not endorsed in these reports.
Mamata Banerjee’s faction will support the Congress candidate in the Nandigram assembly bypoll.
The decision followed Sanchita Pradhan Dey’s withdrawal after a meeting with Suvendu Adhikari.
The Nandigram bypoll is scheduled for October 6, with counting on October 9.
The Election Commission froze the TMC’s traditional name and symbol amid a factional dispute.
Banerjee called the EC decision arbitrary and accused the BJP of weakening opposition parties.
- Who
- Mamata Banerjee’s faction, the Congress candidate, Sanchita Pradhan Dey, Suvendu Adhikari, the Election Commission, and the BJP.
- What
- Banerjee’s faction withdrew its Nandigram candidate and announced support for the Congress nominee.
- Where
- Nandigram, West Bengal; the Election Commission’s decision concerns the TMC factions’ identities for the bypolls.
- When
- The announcement was made on Friday; the bypoll is scheduled for October 6, with counting on October 9.
- Why
- Banerjee said the support was intended to strengthen the INDIA bloc and serve the greater interest of the nation.
Banerjee Faction and Supporters
Critics and Rival Political Voices
Election Commission decision
Banerjee Faction and Supporters
Banerjee called the freezing of the TMC’s traditional name and symbol arbitrary, unconstitutional, illegal, undemocratic, and a politically motivated vendetta.
Critics and Rival Political Voices
The Election Commission issued an interim decision assigning separate names and symbols to the rival factions amid their dispute.
Political responsibility
Banerjee Faction and Supporters
Banerjee accused the BJP of trying to weaken or destroy opposition parties and democratic institutions.
Critics and Rival Political Voices
Congress’s Bengal leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury mocked the withdrawal and urged anti-BJP voters to support the Indian National Congress directly.
Nandigram strategy
Banerjee Faction and Supporters
Banerjee said supporting Congress would strengthen the INDIA bloc and that the two groups would fight the BJP together.
Critics and Rival Political Voices
The reports say Congress’s central leadership had declined an earlier alignment offer, while its Bengal unit criticized the TMC’s conduct.
Key facts
- Bypoll constituency
- Nandigram assembly constituency
- Polling date
- October 6
- Counting date
- October 9
- Withdrawn candidate
- Sanchita Pradhan Dey
- Banerjee faction’s assigned name
- Mamata All India Trinamool Congress
- Banerjee faction’s assigned symbol
- Football Player
- Rival faction’s assigned symbol
- Envelope
Quotes
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury
Congress leader from West Bengal
“Didi's candidate for Nandigram ran away. Now, we await the fate of the candidate from Rejinagar; perhaps he, too, will flee, for they belong to a party of deserters.”
NDTV
“It is a matter of great sadness. They looted in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Bengal. This ‘Jhootha BJP Party’, a ‘Jumla Party’...”
freepressjournal.in
Sources
Nandigram Candidate Abandons Her, Mamata Banerjee Pulls A Congress Surprise
Mamata Banerjee backs Congress in Nandigram bypoll, her candidate opts out
Nandigram Bypoll: Mamata Backs Congress Candidate After Faction’s Pick Withdraws Following Meeting With CM Adhikari
Mamata to back Congress in Nandigram after candidate pulls out
Mamata backs Cong in Nandigram bypoll after candidate withdraws
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EC Assigns Rival TMC Factions New Names, Symbols
