Left announces candidates for West Bengal bypoll:BJP, TMC yet to name theirs; suspense over Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal will hold bypolls in the Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly seats on October 6. The CPI(M)-led Left Front announced its candidates on Saturday. The CPI has fielded Shantigopal Giri from Nandigram, while the CPI(M) has nominated Syed Asad Ali from Rejinagar. Congress candidates have already entered the fray in both seats. The ruling BJP and opposition TMC have not yet announced their candidates. There is still suspense over whether Mamata Banerjee will contest from Nandigram. The Nandigram seat fell vacant after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari resigned from it. The Rejinagar seat fell vacant after the resignation of Humayun Kabir, founder of the Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP). Here is the equation in both seats; Left hopes for a comeback… Nandigram: A BJP-TMC stronghold CPI candidate Shantigopal Giri had also contested the Nandigram seat for the Left in this year’s Assembly election. He received only 2,997 votes. The Left’s decision in Nandigram is being seen as significant. The seat has long been a centre of political rivalry between the BJP and TMC. Rejinagar: Left changes its approach The Left is hoping for a comeback in Rejinagar. It did not field a candidate from the seat in the recent election. The Left had supported Aam Janata Unnayan Party’s Humayun Kabir. After the election, Kabir resigned from the Rejinagar seat. Kabir has now fielded his son Ghulam Nabi Azad (Robin) as the candidate from Rejinagar. Congress announced candidates on Friday Congress announced Mohammad Abdullahil Kaf from Rejinagar and Milan Pradhan from Nandigram on Friday. According to a party statement, the names were approved by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. TMC: Three factions add to the uncertainty TMC is now the main opposition force in the state. However, after the 2026 Assembly election, the party has split into three factions. One faction is led by Mamata Banerjee and another by Ritabrata Banerjee. Twenty TMC Lok Sabha MPs have joined the smaller party NCPI. These MPs have supported the BJP-led NDA. They have not yet made their stand clear on the bypolls. Both the Mamata Banerjee and Ritabrata Banerjee factions have said they are considering fielding candidates. This has added another layer of uncertainty to the contest in both seats. September 16 is the last date for nominations The Election Commission has allowed candidates to file nomination papers until September 16. Voting will be held in both seats on October 6. Votes will be counted on October 9. ​