Political turmoil erupted in West Bengal ahead of the assembly by-elections as TMC candidate Rabiful Islam Chowdhury stunned voters and party workers with a rapid reversal on his candidacy for the Rajpur seat. On Saturday morning at around 10 AM, Chowdhury held a press conference and declared that he would step down from the race, saying the party was unwilling to allot him its traditional election symbol — the bundled grass known as 'Joda Ghassafull.' Instead, he was offered a new symbol depicting a football player, which he refused to accept.
However, within roughly three hours, the situation underwent a complete turnaround. Reports indicate that Chowdhury spoke directly with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and by early afternoon at approximately 1 PM, he announced he would continue to contest the by-election. Speaking to reporters, he confirmed his decision to stay in the race, saying simply that he would now participate in the poll process.
The drama came against a backdrop of other upheaval in the Nandigram constituency, where Mamata Banerjee had already withdrawn her candidate just a day earlier, adding further uncertainty to what were already tense pre-poll conditions. The two by-elections in West Bengal — Rajpur and Nandigram — had been closely watched as indicators of political sentiment in the state ahead of future electoral contests.
Party insiders suggested that the symbol dispute had caused considerable frustration among TMC workers, especially because the bundled grass symbol has been associated with the party since its early days. The quick resolution after Mamata Banerjee's intervention was seen as a move to prevent any fallout among ground-level functionaries before voting took place.
