Rejinagar TMC candidate reverses withdrawal decision within two hours

Ahead of West Bengal bypolls, Mamata Banerjee's Rejinagar candidate and former MLA Rabiul Alam Chowdhury said at 10:50 am on Saturday he was likely to withdraw his nomination, citing arrest threats against party workers, but reversed the decision by 12:30 pm and said he would begin campaigning. A day earlier, Nandigram candidate Sanchita Pradhan Dey withdrew her nomination. Congress candidate Milan Pradhan, backed by TMC there, was arrested in 2007 murder cases.

Written by AI from Hindustan Times — India · not yet reviewed by an editor · Published 19 Sept 2026, 5:08 pm IST

Source

Hindustan Times — India · read the original report ↗

#bengal bypolls#trinamool congress#mamata banerjee#rejinagar#nandigram

Desk check · some claims need care

What the desk checked (5)

Rejinagar candidate Rabiul Alam Chowdhury said he would withdraw his nomination, then reversed within two hours. — Attributed to Chowdhury's own statements to media at 10:50 am and 12:30 pm as given in the source.
TMC workers are being pressured and threatened with arrests. — Allegation quoted from Chowdhury; no independent corroboration or official response in the source.
Sanchita Pradhan Dey withdrew her Nandigram nomination a day earlier after meeting Suvendu Adhikari. — Stated in source without named attribution; the source describes Adhikari as West Bengal chief minister.
Congress candidate Milan Pradhan was arrested over four pending non-bailable warrants including 2007 murder cases. — Attributed to an East Midnapore police statement; Congress disputes the timing.
The Banerjee-led faction, named Mamata All India Trinamool Congress by the ECI, will contest on a temporary football symbol. — Attributed to a statement issued by the party.

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Analysts’ view opinion

AI Political Analyst

The two-hour U-turn in Rejinagar is not just one candidate's indecision — it raises a question about the Mamata Banerjee-led faction's basic capacity to hold the field in these bypolls. Contesting under a new party name and a temporary symbol, alongside allegations that workers face arrest threats, leaves her camp on the defensive before voting even begins. Coming a day after the Nandigram withdrawal and the arrest of the TMC-backed Congress candidate there, the sequence feeds a single narrative: the contest is narrowing before it starts. Yet the police argument is not weak either — executing long-pending non-bailable warrants is a standing Election Commission instruction.

The candidate said both the withdrawal announcement and the reversal followed conversations with Banerjee, suggesting decision-making is centralised but the message on the ground lost clarity.
Fighting with a new party name and a temporary 'football player' symbol is a serious practical handicap, since symbol recognition is hard to build in a short campaign window.
Nandigram's withdrawal and Rejinagar's wobble within 24 hours hand opponents an 'organisational weakness' storyline, even though the Rejinagar candidate is now staying in the race.
TMC-Congress coordination is visible in Nandigram, and the Congress's combative response to the arrest could harden that electoral understanding rather than weaken it.
The Congress questions the timing of the arrest while police cite a standard ECI directive — the episode opens two rival readings, political targeting versus routine enforcement, and this story settles neither.

What to watch — Watch whether Banerjee and senior leaders actually campaign in Rejinagar, what objections arise over the temporary symbol, and what shape a joint Congress-TMC campaign takes in Nandigram.

The story does not establish that workers were pressured as alleged, nor that the arrest was politically timed; the real trigger for the candidate's U-turn and the internal party discussions behind it also remain unclear.

Deep dive

Research brief · 8 facts · 7 dates · exam-ready

The brief

Context

Ahead of bypolls in West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress faction led by Mamata Banerjee — renamed "Mamata All India Trinamool Congress" by the Election Commission of India and allotted a temporary symbol, the football player — is facing turmoil over its candidates. In Rejinagar (Murshidabad), its candidate and former MLA Rabiul Alam Chowdhury announced on a Saturday morning that he was likely to withdraw his nomination, citing arrest threats against party workers, and reversed the decision within two hours. A day earlier, the Banerjee faction's Nandigram candidate Sanchita Pradhan Dey withdrew her nomination, after which Banerjee said TMC would support Congress candidate Milan Pradhan, who was then arrested in 2007 murder cases. The source refers to Suvendu Adhikari as West Bengal chief minister.

Key facts

At around 10:50 am on Saturday, Rejinagar bypoll candidate Rabiul Alam Chowdhury, a former TMC MLA, told media in Murshidabad he was likely to withdraw his nomination that afternoon.
By around 12:30 pm the same day he reversed the decision, saying he would start campaigning and that senior leaders, possibly Mamata Banerjee, would campaign in Rejinagar.
Chowdhury cited pressure, threats of arrest and actual arrests of party workers, plus having to contest with a new symbol, as reasons for planning to withdraw.
Chowdhury said he spoke to Banerjee on Friday night and she asked him to take the call himself.
A day earlier, Sanchita Pradhan Dey, Banerjee's Nandigram candidate, withdrew her nomination; she had met West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday evening in Kolkata.
After Dey's withdrawal, Banerjee announced TMC support for Congress candidate Milan Pradhan in Nandigram; hours later Pradhan was arrested in 2007 murder cases.
East Midnapore police said on Saturday that Pradhan was arrested over four pending non-bailable warrants at Nandigram police station for murder, attempt to murder, abduction with intent to murder, causing disappearance of evidence, house trespass and rioting with arms.
A statement by Mamata All India Trinamool Congress — the new name allotted to the Banerjee-led faction by the ECI — said its candidate would fight on the temporary symbol 'football player'.

Timeline

2007Cases against Milan Pradhan registered during the anti-land acquisition movement in Nandigram, according to the state Congress.
Thursday eveningNandigram candidate Sanchita Pradhan Dey met West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari in Kolkata.
FridayDey withdrew her nomination; Banerjee said she would announce her decision on the Rejinagar candidate soon; Chowdhury spoke to Banerjee at night.
Friday (after Dey's withdrawal)Banerjee announced TMC support for Congress candidate Milan Pradhan in Nandigram; hours later Pradhan was arrested.
Saturday, around 10:50 amChowdhury announced in Murshidabad that he was likely to withdraw his nomination that afternoon.
Saturday, around 12:30 pmChowdhury reversed the decision and said he would begin campaigning.
SaturdayEast Midnapore police issued a statement detailing four non-bailable warrants against Pradhan; state Congress questioned the timing of the arrest.

Who has a stake

Rabiul Alam Chowdhury — Former Rejinagar MLA and Banerjee faction's bypoll candidate; his withdrawal and U-turn decide whether the seat is contested by the faction.
Mamata Banerjee — Leader of the faction renamed Mamata All India Trinamool Congress; must hold candidates together while contesting on a new temporary symbol.
Sanchita Pradhan Dey — Banerjee's Nandigram candidate who withdrew her nomination after meeting the chief minister.
Milan Pradhan — Congress candidate in Nandigram backed by TMC; arrested over four non-bailable warrants in 2007 cases while contesting.
Suvendu Adhikari — Described in the source as West Bengal chief minister; met Dey before her withdrawal and was, per Congress, a leader of the 2007 movement.
West Bengal Congress (Subhankar Sarkar) — Questions the timing of Pradhan's arrest and says the party will not back down even if he is jailed.
East Midnapore police / Election Commission of India — Police cite standing ECI instructions to execute long-pending non-bailable warrants in all elections and bypolls; ECI allotted the faction's new name and symbol.

Why it matters

The episode shows how a split in West Bengal's ruling-party landscape, a newly allotted party name and a temporary symbol are unsettling candidate selection just as bypoll campaigning begins. It also raises a recurring election-integrity question: when police execute long-pending non-bailable warrants against a contesting candidate, is it routine compliance with ECI instructions or selective timing? For voters in Rejinagar and Nandigram, the churn determines whether they get a genuine contest at all.

UPSC angle

Prelims pointers

The Election Commission of India allotted the Banerjee-led faction the new name 'Mamata All India Trinamool Congress' and the temporary symbol 'football player'.
Rejinagar is in Murshidabad district; Nandigram falls under East Midnapore (Purba Medinipur) district policing.
Execution of long-pending non-bailable warrants is a standing ECI instruction for all elections and bypolls, per police.
Cases against Nandigram Congress candidate Milan Pradhan date to the 2007 anti-land acquisition movement.
Suvendu Adhikari is described in the source as West Bengal chief minister; Sisir Adhikari is named as a 2007 movement leader.
Subhankar Sarkar is the West Bengal Congress president quoted in the story.

Mains framing

The Rejinagar flip-flop captures how intra-party fragmentation interacts with the machinery of election administration. Immediate causes cited by the candidate are coercive pressure on workers — threats of arrest and actual arrests — and the handicap of contesting on an unfamiliar temporary symbol after the ECI renamed the Banerjee-led faction; within two hours he reversed course, suggesting leadership intervention rather than resolution of the underlying grievance. Alongside, the Nandigram sequence — a candidate withdrawing after meeting the chief minister, TMC support shifting to the Congress nominee, and that nominee's arrest hours later on four non-bailable warrants from 2007 cases — sharpens the contest between two readings: police insist Pradhan was an absconder, chargesheeted as such, and that executing long-pending warrants is a standing ECI instruction, while the Congress asks why the arrest came only after nomination, noting that similar 2007 cases involved other leaders too. The implications touch the level playing field, candidates' ability to campaign, and voter choice where withdrawals shrink the field. The way forward, on the source's own terms, lies in transparent, uniform and timely enforcement of warrants under ECI supervision, credible grievance redressal for complaints of pressure on workers, and clear communication to voters about a newly allotted party name and symbol.

Key terms

Mamata All India Trinamool Congress: New name allotted by the ECI to the Mamata Banerjee-led faction, contesting the bypolls on a temporary symbol.
Temporary symbol: An interim poll symbol given to a party or faction for an election; here, the 'football player' symbol.
Non-bailable warrant: A court warrant directing arrest where the accused cannot claim bail as a matter of right; four were pending against Milan Pradhan.
Withdrawal of nomination: A candidate formally pulling out after filing papers, as Sanchita Pradhan Dey did in Nandigram.
Anti-land acquisition movement (2007): The Nandigram agitation during which, per the Congress, the cases against Milan Pradhan and others were registered.
Absconder: An accused evading arrest; police said Pradhan stands chargesheeted as an absconder.

Practice questions

Examine how the timing of arrests and execution of pending non-bailable warrants during elections affects the level playing field, using the Nandigram and Rejinagar bypoll episodes.
What powers does the Election Commission of India exercise in allotting party names and symbols to factions, and how can a new symbol affect a party's electoral prospects?
Discuss the implications of candidate withdrawals and last-minute alliances for voter choice in bypolls.

Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.

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