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

Chowdhury, a former TMC MLA, had been fielded by the Mamata Banerjee-led faction for the Rejinagar Assembly by-election. His withdrawal means the faction has now lost its originally announced candidates in both Rejinagar and Nandigram ahead of the October 6 bypolls.

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The development comes amid a dispute between rival Trinamool Congress factions over the party’s name and election symbol. The Election Commission has allotted Mamata Banerjee’s faction the name ‘Mamata All India Trinamool Congress’ and the ‘Football Player’ symbol for the upcoming bypolls.

The rival faction led by Arup Roy has been assigned the name ‘Democratic Trinamool Congress’ and the ‘Envelope’ symbol.

Chowdhury’s withdrawal comes a day after Sanchita Pradhan Dey withdrew her Nandigram candidature. Dey met West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari at the state secretariat Nabanna along with her husband Satyajit before withdrawing her nomination. The immediate reason for her decision was not clear.

With both developments coming within a day of each other, the Mamata faction now faces a fresh challenge to its candidate lineup ahead of the October 6 Assembly bypolls.