West Bengal's political landscape underwent a dramatic realignment on Friday, 18 September 2026, as All India Trinamool Congress founder and former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee found herself without a candidate in the high-stakes Nandigram Assembly by-election scheduled for 6 October. A sequence of fast-moving developments — a candidate withdrawal, an arrest, and a split verdict from the Election Commission of India (ECI) — combined to leave Bengal's once-dominant political force scrambling for footing.

How Mamata Lost Her Nandigram Candidate

Sanchita Dey Pradhan, the candidate fielded by the Mamata-led Trinamool faction for Nandigram in East Midnapore district, withdrew her nomination following a meeting with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. With the last date for filing nominations already past, Mamata had no alternative but to announce support for Congress candidate Milan Pradhan. Shortly after that announcement, reports emerged of Milan Pradhan's arrest in a pre-existing case. The Indian National Congress (INC) directly blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the development; the ruling party denied any involvement.

BJP leaders noted that with the Model Code of Conduct in force, administrative control shifts to the state election commission, which can direct police to execute all previously issued non-bailable warrants — a procedural point that Opposition leaders argued was being weaponised.

Election Commission Splits the Trinamool Brand

Earlier on Friday, the ECI issued a significant ruling: it allotted new names and symbols to the two rival factions of the Trinamool Congress. The faction aligned with Mamata Banerjee was designated 'Mamata All India Trinamool Congress' with the 'Football Player' as its symbol, while the breakaway faction led by expelled legislator Ritabrata Banerjee was registered as 'Democratic Trinamool Congress' with the 'Envelope' symbol. Crucially, neither faction was granted the original 'All India Trinamool Congress' name or the iconic twin florets symbol — pending a final determination of which group constitutes 'the real Trinamool'.

A leader loyal to Mamata Banerjee disclosed that she had signalled willingness to campaign for her candidates only if the ECI formally granted them the original name and symbol. 'If not, Didi said she will think about it,' the leader said, paraphrasing her remarks made ahead of the poll body's interim decision late on Thursday.

The two renamed factions are set to contest by-elections at both Nandigram in East Midnapore and Rejinagar in Murshidabad.

Ritabrata Banerjee's Unexpected Elevation

For the expelled Trinamool legislator Ritabrata Banerjee, the ECI ruling marked a striking transformation — from a relatively peripheral figure to the principal disruptive force against Mamata Banerjee, herself long regarded as West Bengal's foremost political disruptor. His camp was reportedly satisfied that the original name and twin florets symbol were withheld from Mamata, arguing that an award in her favour would have handed her a decisive symbolic — and legal — advantage going into the by-election.

Rebel MPs, Symbol Battle, and the Bigger Stakes

Separately, roughly 60 rebel Trinamool MLAs, 20 MPs, and a large cohort of leaders, workers, and supporters remain in a state of political limbo, awaiting the ECI's final verdict on party ownership. Several rebel Trinamool Lok Sabha members who joined the little-known Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) face a prolonged wait for official recognition from the Lok Sabha Speaker. The BJP has reportedly ruled out inducting additional Trinamool leaders into its ranks, though the rebel MPs have declared support for the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Under ECI rules, a reserved symbol belongs exclusively to a recognised political party for allotment to its contesting candidates. The final allotment of the twin florets — and with it, access to party funds and assets — will follow only once the commission formally determines which faction is the legitimate Trinamool Congress.

The Rise and Fracture of the Trinamool

The Trinamool Congress was founded on 1 January 1998, and its ascent under Mamata Banerjee culminated in breaking West Bengal's long-running Left Front bastion after the party ruled the state for 15 uninterrupted years. Over that period, Mamata became a political cult figure among supporters who often referred to the party as 'Tinamool' — a pronunciation quirk that entered the folklore of tea-stall debates and street-corner discussions across the state.

Over time, however, that reverence was tested by persistent allegations of misconduct and financial misappropriation within the party's ranks, contributing to what critics describe as the regime's eventual erosion and the current internal fracture. The by-election results on 6 October will offer the first electoral verdict on a divided Trinamool and a diminished but resilient Mamata Banerjee.