The rebel faction of the Trinamool Congress has said it will not field a candidate in Nandigram for the upcoming Assembly bypoll if former chief minister Mamata Banerjee decides to contest from the seat.
The offer comes amid competing claims by the two warring factions over the party’s authorised signatories and organisational elections. Bypolls to the Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly constituencies are scheduled for October 6.
“Mamata Banerjee never wins in normal elections. But she wins in by-elections. And it doesn’t look good that Mamata Banerjee lost in her own locality and at her own booth in this election,” rebel faction leader Ritabrata Banerjee said in New Delhi on Saturday.
He was referring to the Trinamool supremo’s defeat to Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari in Bhabanipur. Adhikari, who also won the Nandigram seat, later vacated it, necessitating the bypoll.
“We also want Mamata Banerjee to come to the Assembly,” Ritabrata said.
Another rebel faction MLA, Akhruzzaman, pointed out that Banerjee had never won a general election from Nandigram.
“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,’” he said.
The remarks come amid an ongoing dispute between the Mamata Banerjee-led All India Trinamool Congress and the Ritabrata faction over the party’s name and election symbol.
The Election Commission is currently hearing the rival claims.
Meanwhile, Banerjee's outreach to party veteran Akhil Giri has set off fresh speculation that it may be weighing him as a candidate for the Nandigram bypoll, as it seeks to reclaim political ground in a constituency.
The former chief minister spoke to Giri over the phone and later asked him to meet her at her Kalighat residence on Saturday, according to a TMC leader from the Mamata Banerjee camp.
The development has fuelled speculation that the TMC is considering Giri for the October 6 bypoll, although the party has made no formal announcement in this regard.
