Rabiul Alam Chowdhury, the Mamata Banerjee-led faction’s candidate for the Rejinagar Assembly bypoll, has reversed his decision to withdraw from the contest and said he will remain in the race. Chowdhury had announced his withdrawal earlier on Saturday, citing difficulties in making voters familiar with a new electoral symbol following the Election Commission’s interim order in the dispute over the Trinamool Congress name and symbol.
Chowdhury later changed his decision and said he would begin campaigning in the constituency. His earlier withdrawal came amid a period of political uncertainty for the faction, after its Nandigram candidate Sanchita Pradhan Dey also withdrew from that bypoll. The Mamata faction subsequently announced support for Congress candidate Milan Pradhan in Nandigram.
The Election Commission has temporarily barred both rival Trinamool factions from using the original party name and its reserved two-flowers-on-grass symbol while the dispute is considered. The two groups have instead been assigned separate names and symbols for the upcoming bypolls.
The Rejinagar bypoll is scheduled for October 6, with counting on October 9. Chowdhury’s return keeps the Mamata faction in the contest alongside candidates from other parties and groups.
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