NEW DELHI: In a significant blow to the Mamata Banerjee-led faction of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the party’s candidate for the upcoming Nandigram assembly bypoll, Sanchita Dey Pradhan, withdrew her nomination on Friday.Pradhan’s sudden departure from the race came after she met West Bengal chief minister and senior BJP leader and West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari in Kolkata. Her withdrawal came just a day ahead of the deadline for withdrawing nominations. A photograph purportedly showing Adhikari and Pradhan together went viral on social media, the authenticity of which could not be confirmed.The October 6 bypoll was necessitated after Adhikari vacated the Nandigram seat to retain Bhowanipore—Mamata Banerjee’s traditional bastion—where he had defeated the then chief minister in the West Bengal assembly elections held in April.That election marked the end of the TMC’s 15-year rule, and the BJP formed its maiden government in West Bengal.(Developing story)