Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday announced that her faction would support Congress candidate Milan Pradhan in the Nandigram
Assembly bypoll after its own nominee withdrew from the contest.
Banerjee said her camp would not nominate another candidate for the seat and described the decision as a show of solidarity with the INDIA alliance in its political contest against the BJP.
“We are ready to fight it out. I want the BJP to go from India. Our full solidarity is with the INDIA alliance,” Banerjee said at a press conference.
She also referred to discussions with other leaders of the alliance. According to Banerjee, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi spoke to her on Thursday, while AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal also posted a message of support.
The announcement came hours after Sanchita Pradhan Dey, who had been fielded by the Mamata-led faction in Nandigram, withdrew her nomination. She had been announced as the faction’s candidate earlier this month.
#WATCH | West Bengal | Mamata Banerjee-led faction candidate from Nandigram Sanchita Pradhan (Dey) has withdrawn her nomination for the Nandigram Assembly constituency by-election.
(Video and pic: West Bengal CMO) https://t.co/trquddnraK pic.twitter.com/32HxXCY62y
— ANI (@ANI) September 18, 2026
Pradhan Dey’s withdrawal came after a meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari at the state secretariat in Nabanna. The meeting attracted attention because Adhikari, a former Nandigram MLA, is a prominent political rival of Banerjee. Reports said Pradhan Dey met Adhikari before withdrawing her candidature.
Congress has fielded Milan Pradhan from Nandigram for the October 6 bypoll.
This comes a day after the Election Commission of India barred both rival Trinamool factions from using the original All India Trinamool Congress name and its traditional ‘Flowers and Grass’ symbol.
The developments unfolded on the same day that the Election Commission allotted separate names and symbols to the two rival Trinamool Congress factions.
The faction led by Banerjee was allotted the name “Mamata All India Trinamool Congress” and the “Football Player” symbol. The rival faction was allotted the name “Democratic Trinamool Congress” and the “Envelope” symbol. Both were recognised as political parties in West Bengal, Meghalaya and Tripura under the interim arrangement.
The arrangement follows the ECI’s decision on Thursday to freeze the use of the “All India Trinamool Congress” name and its traditional “Flowers and Grass” symbol by both factions. The new identities are applicable while the Commission considers the competing claims over the original party name and symbol.
Banerjee also criticised the Election Commission’s decision, describing it as a “black day” in India’s democratic history and alleging political bias and vendetta.
She questioned the freezing of the party’s name and symbol and alleged that the move was intended to satisfy the “ego” of a political party. Banerjee further claimed that her faction’s accounts had been frozen, workers were being targeted and police were acting as an “arm” of the BJP.
“As a common citizen I am not getting my freedom,” she said.
She indicated that her faction would challenge the interim arrangement.
“We will never bow down our head and we will bounce back,” she said.
Banerjee also asserted her connection to the party she founded, saying, “I cannot leave All India Trinamool Congress until I leave this world.”
