India, Sept. 19 -- An intense political drama unfolded in West Bengal on Saturday after Mamata Banerjee's Rejinagar bypoll candidate, Rabiul Alam Chowdhury, announced to withdraw his nomination - only to make a U-turn in less than two hours.

At around 10:50 am, Chowdhury, a former TMC MLA from Rejinagar, told media persons in Murshidabad that he had a discussion with Banerjee on Friday and was likely to withdraw his nomination on Saturday afternoon. He cited the threat of arrests as the reason for his move.

"Our workers are being pressured and threatened with arrests. Some have also been arrested. They are not being able to campaign. We are planning to step aside. I spoke to Banerjee last night and told her everything. She asked me to t...