Kolkata: Mamata Banerjee’s faction of the Trinamool Congress has suffered another setback in the West Bengal Assembly bypolls, with Rejinagar candidate Rabiul Alam Chowdhury announcing his withdrawal from the contest, a day after the faction’s Nandigram nominee Sanchita Pradhan Dey also pulled out.

Chowdhury had been fielded by the Mamata Banerjee-led faction for the Rejinagar Assembly by-election. He has cited the failure to secure the party’s traditional ‘Twin Flowers’ election symbol as the primary reason for his decision to withdraw.

His exit comes just a day after Sanchita Pradhan Dey withdrew her nomination from Nandigram, leaving the Mamata camp without its originally announced candidates in both Assembly constituencies.

The developments come against the backdrop of the Election Commission’s decision to assign separate names and symbols to the rival Trinamool factions for the upcoming bypolls. The Mamata-led camp has been allotted the name ‘Mamata All India Trinamool Congress’ and the ‘Football Player’ symbol, replacing its claim to the traditional TMC identity and symbol for these elections.