Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], September 10 (ANI): West Bengal Congress president Shubhankar Sarkar on Thursday criticised the state government over the alleged lack of development in the Nandigram Assembly seat, saying that the Chief Minister should have retained the constituency as no work has been done there so far.
Speaking to ANI on the by-elections, Sarkar said, “The Chief Minister should have retained the Nandigram seat; she should not have given it up. No work has been done in Nandigram so far.”
He said that the Congress would definitely contest the by-elections, while adding that the final details would be made public after discussions within the party.
“The Congress will certainly contest the election. The matter has not yet been discussed within the party. Details will be made public after the discussion. The Congress will contest the by-elections for both seats,” he said.
Sarkar also accused the state government of insulting the people of West Bengal.
“The new government is insulting the people of Bengal,” the West Bengal Congress chief said.
Earlier, rebel Trinamool Congress spokesperson Riju Dutta challenged TMC chief Mamata Banerjee ahead of the by-elections, saying rebel factions would not put up a candidate against her if she contests from Nandigram.
"If Mamata Banerjee files her nomination from Nandigram and contests the election there, the Rebel Trinamool Congress will not field any candidate against her," Dutta told ANI.
On the party's claim over the Trinamool Congress name and election symbol, Dutta said the party was confident of receiving the symbol from the Election Commission of India, claiming that it had followed all the required legal procedures.
"As the Trinamool Congress, we are very optimistic because we have followed all the legal rules and procedures laid down by the Election Commission. We are hopeful that we will receive the symbol in the next few days," he said.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday announced the election schedule for vacant Assembly constituencies across Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, West Bengal, and one Parliamentary constituency in Assam, with voting scheduled to take place on October 6 and counting of votes on October 9.
According to the official schedule released by the Commission, the formal Gazette notification for the elections will be issued on September 9, 2026. The deadline for filing nomination papers is September 16, followed by scrutiny of nominations on September 17. Candidates can withdraw their nominations until September 19.
The polling will be conducted on October 6 (Tuesday), and the counting of votes will take place on October 9 (Friday). The Commission stated that the entire election process is slated for completion before October 11, 2026.
Ahead of the elections, the poll panel had also notified the schedule for the final publication of electoral rolls across the respective constituencies.
In West Bengal, bypolls were necessitated in Rejinagar and Nandigram following the resignations of Humayun Kabir and Suvendu Adhikari, respectively, while in Assam, the Nagaon Parliamentary Constituency fell vacant following the resignation of Pradyut Bordoloi. (ANI)
"CM should have retained Nandigram seat, no work done there": Congress's Shubhankar Sarkar
