BUG: Fix #57608: queries on categorical string columns in HDFStore.select() return unexpected results.
In function __init__() of class Selection (pandas/core/io/pytables.py), the method self.terms.evaluate() was not returning the correct value for the where condition. The issue stemmed from the function convert_value() of class BinOp (pandas/core/computation/pytables.py), where the function searchedsorted() did not return the correct index when matching the where condition in the metadata (categories table). Replacing searchsorted() with np.where() resolves this issue.

- [x] closes #57608
- [x] [Tests added and passed](https://pandas.pydata.org/pandas-docs/dev/development/contributing_codebase.html#writing-tests) if fixing a bug or adding a new feature
- [x] All [code checks passed](https://pandas.pydata.org/pandas-docs/dev/development/contributing_codebase.html#pre-commit).
- [ ] Added [type annotations](https://pandas.pydata.org/pandas-docs/dev/development/contributing_codebase.html#type-hints) to new arguments/methods/functions.
- [x] Added an entry in the latest `doc/source/whatsnew/vX.X.X.rst` file if fixing a bug or adding a new feature.

This pull request is stale because it has been open for thirty days with no activity. Please [update](https://pandas.pydata.org/pandas-docs/stable/development/contributing.html#updating-your-pull-request) and respond to this comment if you're still interested in working on this. pre-commit.ci autofix Rebased to include recent upstream changes. I apologize for the unused import in my earlier commit; thank you very much for the quick fix! Thanks @SofiaSM45 