'Won't Field Candidate': Trinamool Rebels' Nandigram Offer To Mamata Banerjee

Mamata Banerjee's possible move to contest the assembly bypoll from Nandigram is growing into what could be a thaw, or a dare, between the two factions of the Trinamool Congress (TMC). The rebels have said they won't field a candidate if she chooses to contest. This comes even as a tug-of-war over the party symbol has already reached the Election Commission.

Rebel faction leader Ritabrata Banerjee said in New Delhi on Saturday, "Our candidate selection has been decided collectively, but hasn't been announced yet." Then he took a dig but also offered a concession.

"Mamata Banerjee never wins in normal elections. But she wins in by-elections. And it doesn't look good, right, that Mamata Banerjee lost in her own locality and lost at her booth in this election," he said, referring to her defeat in Bhabanipur to BJP's Suvendu Adhikari, who won Nandigram too and became Chief Minister, ending her 15-year reign.

"We also want Mamata Banerjee to come to the assembly," Ritabrata added, referring to the bypoll set for October 6 as Adhikari vacated the Nandigram seat as per rules. She has not yet spoken on the issue.

Most of the TMC MLAs broke away and chose Ritabrata as Leader of Opposition after the party's rout, blaming her nephew and party general secretary Abishek Banerjee. She later lost a bulk of her MPs too, though the rebel MLAs continued to say they didn't have an issue with her as such, only with the nephew.

Delhi: On Former CM Mamata Banerjee is considering contesting the upcoming West Bengal Assembly by-election from Nandigram, West Bengal Assembly LoP Ritabrata Banerjee says, "Our candidate selection has been decided collectively. It hasn't been announced yet, but as far as the… pic.twitter.com/wz1sRUbQHS

— IANS (@ians_india) September 12, 2026

The 71-year-old leader has a history with Nandigram. "She has never won a general election from Nandigram," said TMC MLA (rebel faction) Akhruzzaman, recalling that she lost the seat in 2021 too to Adhikari, though the TMC won the state and she became CM. She then entered the assembly from Bhabanipur in a bypoll.

"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 added.

Delhi: On Former CM Mamata Banerjee is considering contesting the upcoming West Bengal Assembly by-election from Nandigram, TMC MLA (Ritabrata Banerjee faction) Akhruzzaman says, "In Nandigram, Mamata Banerjee has never won a general election. She lost the election in 2021 and… pic.twitter.com/g6DfDxGI9Y

— IANS (@ians_india) September 12, 2026

Besides Nandigram, the Rejinagar seat is also up for a bypoll.

In Nandigram, the Trinamool Congress candidate got a respectable vote share despite losing. And it has an old association with Mamata Banerjee, as she started a massive protest against farmland acquisition here before eventually displacing the Left in the 2011 elections.

As for Rejinagar, that constituency fell vacant after former TMC leader Humayun Kabir, who formed his own Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) ahead of the elections, resigned. Kabir won both the Naoda and Rejinagar seats and chose to retain Naoda.

The BJP has said it'll win the bypolls no matter who contests on the TMC symbol.