Kolkata, 08 September (H.S.) :

Political and administrative activities have intensified in Nandigram in West Bengal’s Purba Medinipur district following the Election Commission’s announcement of the schedule for the upcoming Assembly bypoll. Voting for the Nandigram seat will be held on October 6.

Ahead of the by-election, an all-party meeting was convened at the District Magistrate’s office in Nimtouri on Tuesday to discuss arrangements for ensuring a free and peaceful polling process. The meeting was chaired by District Magistrate Niranjan Kumar and attended by representatives of almost all major political parties.

However, no representative of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) attended the meeting. The party’s absence from the key meeting has triggered speculation in political circles over whether the TMC will field a candidate in the upcoming by-election.

Following the meeting, District Magistrate Niranjan Kumar briefed representatives of the political parties about the rules and guidelines governing the election. TMC leaders from the Tamluk and Nandigram organisational districts, however, declined to comment on the party’s absence from the meeting.

The Nandigram seat fell vacant after BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, who had won the constituency in the previous Assembly election, subsequently resigned from the seat after also winning the Bhabanipur constituency. A by-election was therefore necessitated in Nandigram.

According to political observers, organisational differences and legal complications within the TMC have added to the uncertainty over the party’s electoral strategy. Following the change of government in the state, the former ruling party has witnessed internal divisions, with a significant section of legislators reportedly moving away from the original organisation under the leadership of Ritabrata Banerjee.

The party is currently said to be divided into two factions, referred to as the ‘Kalighat TMC’ and the ‘Ritabrata camp’. The dispute over which faction will retain control of the party’s name and election symbol has further complicated the situation.

As a result, uncertainty persists over which faction, if any, will field a candidate from Nandigram using the TMC’s election symbol. Political circles believe that the ongoing uncertainty over the party’s name and symbol may have been a factor behind the TMC’s absence from the all-party meeting convened by the district administration.

The TMC has not yet officially announced its candidate or its final strategy for the Nandigram by-election.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh