KOLKATA: Hours after he decided to withdraw his nomination from the Rejinagar assembly bypoll, Trinamool Congress candidate Rabiul Alam Chowdhury on Saturday reversed his decision and announced his candidature from the seat. He said, “I have changed my earlier decision after speaking to party chief Mamata Banerjee. I will fight the election from Rejinagar with a new symbol and start the campaign from today.”
Sources close to Mamata said that she spoke to Rabiul for nearly one hour and asked him not to withdraw his nomination. Earlier in the day, he decided to withdraw nomination for the upcoming bypolls within less than 24 hours after Sanchita Pradhan Dey, who was also fielded by the former CM from the Nandigram seat in Purba Medinipur, left the contest on Friday afternoon.
Saturday is the last date for withdrawal of nomination papers for the October 6 bypolls in the high-voltage Nandigram and Rejinagar.
“Our party has got a new symbol, and as a result of which, it becomes very difficult to engage supporters and workers for the October 6 bypolls. Many of our party workers have been arrested. How is it possible to contest the bypolls amid this uncongenial situation?” Rabiul said earlier in the day. He also said that he had spoken to Mamata Banerjee, and with her clearance, he is withdrawing his nomination.
On Friday, Sanchita withdrew her nomination minutes after meeting CM Suvendu Adhikari in Kolkata. Having lost the party and its symbol, Mamata decided to support the Congress candidate Milan Pradhan in the high-voltage Nandigram seat owing to the withdrawal of the nomination of Sanchita. Police arrested Congress-nominated candidate Milan from the Nandigram assembly constituency on charge of his alleged involvement in an old murder case in 2007 on Friday evening hours after the former CM announced to support him in the by-elections.
As per the Purba Medinipur police sources, Milan was involved in an old murder case, and an arrest warrant had been issued in his name. He was arrested on Friday, a day before the last date of filing nomination papers on September 19.
