Kolkata: In a dramatic turn of events, Mamata Banerjee's party's Rejinagar by-election candidate Rabiul Alam Chowdhury on Saturday announced his withdrawal from the contest, only to retract his statement in less than two hours and assert he would be in the October 6 poll battle as per the wishes of the supremo.
The development came a day after Banerjee's party's Nandigram by-election nominee Sanchita Pradhan Dey withdrew her candidature following a meeting with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.
Chowdhury, a former TMC MLA, told reporters in his Murshidabad home earlier in the day, "It is becoming difficult for me to motivate grassroots workers who have been facing regular harassment. Police have arrested many of our workers, slapping false cases. Also, it is an onerous task to familiarise the electorate with the new 'footballer' symbol in such a short time. In this given situation, I informed Mamata di last evening about my decision (not to contest)… Let's see," he said.
However, about an hour-and-a-half later, the picture changed completely after Chowdhury, in another hurriedly convened press meet, declared that following the announcement of his initial decision to withdraw candidature, the party's top leadership and Mamata Banerjee herself spoke to him, based on which he has reconsidered and reversed his earlier decision.
"I will be contesting the bypoll. We are in Didi's party and we cannot do anything outside her wishes. So, following Didi's instructions, I am retaining my candidature," Chowdhury said, stating that Banerjee directed him not to quit the poll fray.
Chowdhury also visited the local Beldanga police station and spoke to officers. Emerging from the police station, he claimed that the police administration had assured them of the safety and security of party workers.
"I have been assured of security by the police after the supremo (Banerjee) intervened. I have met officers of the Beldanga police station and they have also assured me and my cadre of security during campaigning," he said.
"Even if only 10 workers stand by me, I will take them along and begin a door-to-door campaign," Chowdhury added, expressing confidence that he would receive all necessary assistance for campaigning in accordance with Banerjee's instructions.
The Election Commission has allotted the 'footballer' symbol to the Mamata faction of the Trinamool Congress and assigned it the name 'Mamata All India Trinamool Congress' amid a bitter feud with the rebel grouping over the party's name and 'flowers-and-grass' symbol. The rival faction led by Arup Roy has been awarded the name 'Democratic Trinamool Congress' and the symbol of 'envelope'.
Mamata's party's Nandigram candidate Sanchita Pradhan Dey, who lost her job due to a teacher recruitment scam, on Friday met Adhikari along with her husband Satyajit before withdrawing her nomination, a day ahead of the deadline. The reasons for her decision were not immediately clear.
Faced with a sudden vacancy, Banerjee announced support for Congress's Nandigram candidate Milan Pradhan, describing the Congress as a "sister party", and saying that the move was intended to strengthen the INDIA bloc ahead of October 6 bypolls.
However, hours later, Pradhan was arrested in connection with criminal cases lodged against him during the 2007 anti-land acquisition movement in Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district.
Banerjee and her camp accused the BJP government of "acting in an authoritarian manner to crush dissent and win the bypoll by a huge margin".
Reacting to the allegation, BJP leader and Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar said such charges were expected to be levelled by a "party centred on one person, whose activists had carried out attacks on the then opposition BJP after the 2021 assembly polls".
Following Nandigram, the initial announcement by the party's candidate in Rejinagar that he would withdraw, followed by Rabiul Alam's sudden U-turn, added further intrigue to the state's by-election battle, which has already witnessed intense political drama.