Rival Trinamool factions to contest Nandigram and Rejinagar by-elections
Both Trinamool Congress factions will field candidates in the Nandigram and Rejinagar by-elections on October 6, with the party symbol at the centre of the contest.
By-elections in two West Bengal Assembly constituencies, Nandigram and Rejinagar, are set for October 6, and both rival factions of the Trinamool Congress have decided to field candidates, turning the contest into a test of who legitimately represents the party.
The split runs between the group led by Mamata Banerjee and the rebel camp headed by Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee. The rebel faction has already approached the Election Commission of India staking its claim to the party's grass-and-twin-flowers symbol.
"We will contest the by-polls. At the time of filing nominations, we will state that our candidates are from the Trinamool Congress and claim the twin-flower symbol. If the Election Commission does not allot the symbol to us by the deadline, our candidates will contest as independents," said Akhruzzaman, Opposition Chief Whip in the Assembly.
The rebel group took shape after the 2026 Assembly poll debacle, when Ritabrata Banerjee, Akhruzzaman and a majority of Trinamool MLAs distanced themselves from Mamata Banerjee. Of the 80 Trinamool MLAs elected to the 18th West Bengal Assembly on May 4, 2026, more than 65 have since broken away.
The Mamata Banerjee faction, which now has only a handful of MLAs in the House, is also preparing to field candidates. Loyalists maintain that the party symbol remains with them until the Election Commission rules otherwise. There is speculation that the party chairperson may herself contest one of the two seats, though there has been no official confirmation.
Ms. Banerjee lost Nandigram to Suvendu Adhikari by 1,526 votes in 2021. Rejinagar, in Murshidabad district, has an electorate with a majority from the Muslim community, and support from other opposition parties could help the Trinamool chairperson return to the Assembly.
The by-elections were necessitated after Suvendu Adhikari, who won both Bhabanipur and Nandigram, gave up the Nandigram seat, and Aam Janata Unnayan Party leader Humayun Kabir, who won Naoda and Rejinagar, vacated Rejinagar. Adhikari had won Nandigram in the 2026 polls by 9,665 votes, while Kabir's Rejinagar margin was 58,876 votes.
On Wednesday, Kabir's son, Golam Nabi Azad, filed his nomination as an AJUP candidate. Nominations close on September 16.