KOLKATA: The October 6 assembly bypolls in West Bengal offer a unique test of whether the tactical cooperation between the Congress and the Mamata faction of the TMC translates into electoral support in Nandigram and what the two outfits achieve while contesting separately in Rejinagar.

For former chief minister Mamata Banerjee, the polls also pose a parallel strategic question – should her faction rebuild its organisation independently after a vertical split in the party following the BJP's win in the assembly elections in May and reclaim its traditional political space or accommodate the Congress, cooperation with which could help consolidate votes against the ruling party.

In Nandigram, the Mamata faction's candidate withdrew from the contest after meeting Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, following which Banerjee, left without a candidate, announced support for Congress nominee Milan Pradhan. The move came after the Election Commission allotted new names and symbols to the rival TMC factions amid their respective claim over the mother party's identity.

"We are doing this to strengthen the INDIA bloc," Banerjee had said while announcing her support for Pradhan.

Nandigram carries particular significance for Banerjee. The constituency, along with Singur, was central to her political rise through the anti-land acquisition movements, while the subsequent TMC-Congress alliance helped end the Left Front's 34-year rule in 2011. A decade later, however, Banerjee herself lost in Nandigram to Adhikari in the 2021 assembly elections.

The present contest, has therefore, brought together questions of Banerjee's political legacy, the future of her faction and the broader opposition equation in West Bengal.

Senior Congress leader Pradip Bhattacharya said the TMC leadership had initially approached the Congress's central leadership in the beginning of September before the bypoll schedule was announced, proposing that the Congress contests Nandigram and the Trinamool Congress fights in Rejinagar.

"The party high command sought time and subsequently consulted state leaders about the proposal," Bhattacharya said.

The state leadership, he said, concluded that "it was not the right time for an alliance with the TMC".

The Congress later announced candidates in both the seats.

Congress state spokesperson Suman Roy Chowdhury also maintained that the TMC's proposal was a sign of its political desperation.

"The TMC, when in power, had never made such a proposal even when there was a possibility of fighting the BJP together. Now that it is defeated and alone, it appears to have realised the importance of the Congress," he said.

The debate reflects a larger dilemma for the Congress in West Bengal. During the TMC's 15-year rule, around 56 Congress MLAs were poached by the TMC, further weakening its organisational base.

A TMC leader, however, denied that any such proposal was made to the Congress high command.

Former state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also echoed Suman Roy Chowdhury, saying, "Our party has to rebuild its own organisation in West Bengal. As Mamata Banerjee has lost assembly elections and her party has split, she wants an alliance with the Congress, after trying to wipe out the party in the last 15 years."

Another section of the grand old party, however, looks at the arithmetic differently, arguing that tactical cooperation could consolidate anti-BJP and minority votes in constituencies where the parties draw from overlapping support bases.

"The question is not about a permanent alliance. Wherever there is a possibility of consolidating anti-BJP votes, we have to examine whether tactical cooperation can help," a state Congress leader said.

But opposition to any understanding with the TMC remains strong within the Congress.

"The TMC had been the biggest promoter of the BJP in West Bengal. It is because of the TMC that the Congress has weakened in the state over the years. Aligning with the TMC will be suicidal," another senior Congress leader said.

In Rejinagar, Congress and Banerjee's faction are contesting separately, turning the seat into a test of how much political ground each can hold without the other's support.

For the Congress, the contest could show whether it can expand its support base without the TMC's backing, and for Banerjee, it could offer an early indication of whether her faction can retain its traditional support despite the loss of the familiar party name and symbol.

"Our fight in Rejinagar will demonstrate whether our supporters remain with us despite the temporary dispute over the party's name and symbol," a senior TMC leader said.

The two contests, therefore, offer different questions for the two parties.

For the Congress, a significant performance in Nandigram with the Mamata faction's support could strengthen the argument for constituency-specific cooperation, while a stronger showing in Rejinagar could reinforce those seeking an independent organisational rebuild.

"Nandigram is an experiment. If TMC supporters actually transfer their votes to a Congress candidate, it will show that cooperation has an electoral meaning beyond political statements," a state Congress leader said.

For Banerjee, the results could provide an indication of whether the Congress can serve as a useful tactical partner in select constituencies, or whether her faction can rebuild its electoral base without relying on the party.

"The results will not establish causality, but they could influence the internal arguments in both parties," political analyst Biswanath Chakraborty said.

The October 9 verdict may not settle the Congress-TMC alliance question, but it could shape the terms in which that debate is conducted hereafter.

With the state's opposition space getting reshaped after the assembly elections and the TMC's organisational rupture, Nandigram and Rejinagar could offer an early indication of whether Congress and Banerjee's Mamata All India Trinamool Congress are heading towards a working accommodation, continued rivalry or an uneasy combination of both.