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Bibhash Lodh, BS News Agency: The conflict between the two camps of the party over the name and election symbol of the Trinamool Congress has started to affect the Nandigram assembly by-election. On Wednesday, the rebel camp of the Trinamool openly called on party leader Mamata Banerjee to contest from Nandigram. They claim that if Mamata contests from Nandigram, they will not field any candidate against her. As a result, the political circles are seeing this proposal as both a call and a political challenge in the upcoming by-election.
The by-elections in Nandigram and Rejinagar constituencies will be held on October 6. Before that, both Trinamool camps are preparing to prove their organizational and electoral strength. On the other hand, the claims and counter-claims going on in the Election Commission over the party name and the Joraful symbol have not yet been resolved. Rebel Trinamool spokesperson Riju Dutta said on Wednesday, “If Mamata Banerjee contests from Nandigram, we will not field any candidate. We want her to fight, win and return to the assembly.” Nandigram is one of the most important and controversial constituencies in Mamata Banerjee’s political career. Mamata had contested the 2021 assembly elections from Nandigram. She was defeated in a tough fight against the then Trinamool leader and later BJP leader Subhendu Adhikari. That fight also created a huge stir in national politics.
However, Subhendu Adhikari won again from Nandigram in the 2026 assembly elections. Apart from that, Subhendu defeated her in Mamata Banerjee’s own hometown Bhavanipur. Later, Subhendu left the Nandigram seat, keeping the Bhavanipur seat. That is why a by-election is going to be held in Nandigram. Another MLA from the rebel camp, Madan Mitra, said that Mamata has been offered to contest from Nandigram so that the opposition vote is not divided. He claimed that if the rebel camp had been the BJP's 'B-team', they would have tried to divide the opposition vote by fielding more candidates.
Madan said, "If Mamata Banerjee contests from Nandigram, we will not field a candidate. This will prove that we did not give the BJP a chance to divide the opposition vote." At the same time, he claimed that the accusations of 'BJP's B-team' raised against the rebel camp will also be proven wrong as a result.
Old resentments within the Trinamool regarding Nandigram have also come to the fore again. Abu Taher, a senior Trinamool leader from the time of the Nandigram movement, has raised the question of why Mamata Banerjee will not contest from Nandigram now. He alleged that when Mamata decided to contest from Nandigram in 2021, there was not enough consultation with the local leadership.
Nandigram was the epicenter of the 2007 anti-land acquisition movement. That movement played an important role in the political rise of Trinamool against the then Left Front government and paved the way for the end of 34 years of Left rule in 2011. Later, Nandigram became one of the symbols of the rise of BJP in 2021. Meanwhile, after a major setback in the 2026 assembly elections, Trinamool's organizational crisis has deepened. 65 of the party's 80 MLAs stood by the rebel camp led by Ritabrata Banerjee and expressed their position on the post of Leader of the Opposition. Later, the rebels called a special session and elected Arup Roy as the chairperson and also announced the formation of a separate front.
The demand for the Trinamool name and the Joraful symbol is also awaiting the decision of the Election Commission. The rebel camp led by Ritabrata Banerjee has said that if the decision of the commission is not in their favor, they will also contest the elections as independent candidates if necessary. A meeting of party office bearers has already been called for that purpose. On the other hand, there are indications that Mamata Banerjee's camp may also announce its candidate soon.
Meanwhile, the nomination process for the Nandigram and Rejinagar by-elections has begun. The last day for filing nominations is September 16. The scrutiny of nomination papers will be on September 17 and there will be an opportunity to withdraw candidacy until September 19. The counting of votes will be on October 9.
As a result, this proposal by the rebel camp to field Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram is not just a by-election strategy, but is also considered a new chapter in the fight between the two camps over the political legacy of the Trinamool. There has already been strong speculation in political circles about whether Mamata will accept the proposal and set foot in Nandigram again or avoid the challenge.