Nandigram bypoll: Mamata Banerjee camp candidate Sanchita Pradhan Dey withdraws nomination

In another dramatic turn in the Trinamool Congress' internal battle, Mamata Banerjee camp's Nandigram bypoll candidate Sanchita Pradhan Dey withdrew her nomination on Friday, a day before the deadline.

The development came hours after the Election Commission assigned the Mamata Banerjee-led faction a new party name and symbol for the October 6 bypolls, effectively ending its immediate claim to the Trinamool Congress' traditional identity.

Pradhan Dey, a teacher who had been fielded by the Mamata camp from Nandigram, met West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari at the state secretariat, Nabanna, on Friday afternoon, accompanied by her husband Satyajit.

She subsequently withdrew her nomination, leaving the Mamata All India Trinamool Congress without a candidate in Nandigram.