TMC split may aid Congress-Left combine in Bengal bypolls
Congress and TMC will contest the Nandigram and Rejinagar bypolls separately as a split within TMC surfaces before the Election Commission
The bypolls for the Nandigram and Rejinagar seats in West Bengal have taken an interesting turn. Despite being part of the INDIA alliance at the national level, Congress and Trinamool Congress will contest against each other this time. In the last general assembly election too, the two parties had taken separate paths, with Congress allying with Left parties while Trinamool contested on its own.
Trinamool Congress has not yet made its stand clear on this bypoll and has not announced candidates. Still, political circles believe Trinamool will field candidates on both seats. Congress, on the other hand, has already announced its two candidates, a clear sign that, as before, both parties will contest on their own this time as well. Congress does not appear to be in a mood to compromise on strengthening its party organisation.
Trinamool has been trying continuously for some time to move closer to Congress in Bengal. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been seen standing with Trinamool on several occasions, and closeness between the two parties has grown visible from Parliament to the streets. Despite this, the two parties appear to be on separate paths at the ground level.
Right around the time of this bypoll, a split has also emerged within Trinamool Congress. The party appears divided into two factions, and a hearing is under way at the Election Commission over claims to the party name and its election symbol, the pair of grass flowers. There is talk in political circles that the Congress-Left alliance is trying to take advantage of this split. Nandigram has remained a BJP stronghold since 2021, so BJP's hold there is considered strong, while the contest in Rejinagar is expected to be tighter and triangular, with the Congress-Left alliance, BJP and Trinamool all facing off.
Both seats fell vacant after two leaders resigned. The Nandigram seat fell vacant after BJP leader and then chief ministerial candidate Suvendu Adhikari resigned. In the assembly election, Adhikari had contested from both Nandigram and Bhabanipur and won both. In Bhabanipur, he defeated Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee by more than fifteen thousand votes. He then retained the Bhabanipur seat and resigned from Nandigram. The Rejinagar seat, on the other hand, fell vacant after Aam Janata Unnayan Party founder Humayun Kabir resigned. Kabir had won both the Rejinagar and Nawda seats and later kept the Nawda seat.
